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A History of 
Battery F 323d Field Artillery 



cA History^ 

BATTERY F 

323d FIELD ARTILLERY 

BY 

McDonald h. riggs 
rutherford h. platt, jr. 



PRIVATELY PRINTED BY 

JOHN B. DEMPSEY 
CLEVELAND, OHIO 



T] sn 



^ 



DEDICATION 

This book is dedicated to the 
brave men, living and dead, who as 
Battery F, Three Hundred and 
Twenty-third Field Artillery, served 
their country in the World War. 



Gift 

■ -ubliaher 
mi 3. |»20 



.0' 



/ 



ROLL OF SACRIFICE 

KILLED IN ACTION 
Phillips, George, Nellie, Ohio October 29, 1918 

DIED OF DISEASE 

Colville, Ross L January 12, 1918 

Ralston, Samuel R., Butler, Pa April 7, 1918 

Welch, Robert W April 17, 1918 

Winkle, George A April 21, 1918 

Vanderlin, Victor P., Butler, Pa April 17, 1919 

WOUNDED IN ACTION 

Earnhardt, Raymond E Chicora, Pa. 

Hicks, James South Portsmouth, Ky. 

Koenig, Alfred Cleveland, Ohio 

Uhlenbrock, Albert T Columbus, Ohio 



Contents 



Foreword XIII 

F Battery 1 

Battery F at the Front 31 

The Great Barrage 38 

The Argonne 48 

Verdun 61 

Brabant Sur Meuse ']^ 

Round Up 97 

Orders 132 

Station List 144 

Rosters 146 



List of Illustrations 

The Top ^ 

The American "75" 

"Posts" ^ 

The "Agapenor" 

Vin Blanc ^^ 

"Hommes 40" ^7 

U. S. S. Von Steuben 28 

Tode Dunett ^^ 

Brabant Hill 77 

Lt. Bradford ^^ 

Bois de Montfaucon '^^ 

For the Commander-in-Chief HI 

"Lest Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot" 114 

Ecurey (Nov. 11, 1918) 126 



Foreword 

WHEN it was determined to publish a regimental his- 
tory, it was understood that it was to consist of 
chapters contributed by each battery. For various 
causes this plan has been abandoned in favor of an account 
of the accomplishment of the regiment as a whole. The 
chief reason, therefore, for the printing of this book is to 
provide each member of Battery F with a permanent record 
of the part taken by his battery in the World War. 

The opportunity thus afforded to the battery commander 
to express his personal admiration for the members of his 
organization, both officers and men, and his appreciation of 
the service they rendered, is gratifying. Probably no unit 
in the A. E. F. was more unpromising at its inception. When 
Bob Simpson introduced his aggregation of "wops" and 
"hunkies" to the battery officers, it was with despair in their 
hearts that they attempted the roll-call. The humor of the 
situation appeared at the initial muster, when Lieutenant- 
Colonel Morrison was forced to laugh outright at the men 
who. failing to recognize their names when pronounced in 
English, stood stolidly in place and did not answer "here" to 
the roll-call. The foot drill of the newly formed squads on 
the stubble fields of Camp Sherman seemed ludicrous to the 
officers, soldiers of all of three months, but the recruit's 
willingness to learn and his outwardly cheerful acceptance of 
discipline soon gave confidence to his commanders. Colonel 
Morrison optimistically insisted that F Battery, because of its 
diverse membership was sure to render a good account of 
itself. The battery commander shared his confidence and he 
was not disappointed. 

A soldier in the National Army had a unique experience. 
Taken by law from his home, thrown into a barracks with 
a couple of hundred strangers, many of them from different 
antecedents and surroundings, he was, in the course of time, 
given a uniform like unto two million other uniforms; 
ordered to do many seemingly foolish things, which often 
enough were foolish; punished for strange misdemeanors; 



bossed by officers of little more military experience than he; 
deprived of all semblance of independence and compelled to 
perform disagreeable and strange labor for small pay. 
Drawn from a world where within very wide bounds each 
man is master of his individual life, he became a cog in a 
very rigid organization, where by his own will he could be 
only a good soldier or a poor soldier. 

That this transformation was not accompanied by more 
friction is due chiefly to the adaptability of the young 
American. When the first contingents arrived at Camp Sher- 
man, the newly fledged company commanders were anxious 
as to the attitude of their men, but hardly a week had passed 
before it was clearly recognized that there was to be no 
difficulty in maintaining military discipline, and that the 
officers could have the ungrudging support of their men, 
in the effort to mold their units into effective fighting ma- 
chines. From the first days in Camp Sherman to the last 
gathering around the wooden boards at Camp Merritt, the 
entire loyalty of every man, officer, and private of Battery 
F was felt and relied upon by the battery commander. 

At Camp Sherman this spirit meant great progress. 
Much was learned during the first few months. Foot drill 
soon changed from a job to a bore. Cleanliness of quarters and 
person was axiomatic. Military courtesy, at first irksome, 
grew to be second nature. Eventually the guns came, and 
the gunners became so practised that Battery F was chosen 
to represent the regiment in the brigade exhibition problem 
when it fired Colonel Ashburn's famous barrage — the barrage 
which rolled both ways. Here the gun crews abolished the 
probable error. After the completion of the barrage, General 
Glenn ordered a salvo fired at the first "enemy" trench. On 
the original data, two shells landed squarely in the trench, 
one exploded on the parapet, and one hit the parados. The 
drivers also brought compliments to the battery by the dashing 
manner in which they, with the first sergeant in command, 
brought the limbers to the battery position under the eyes of 
the division commander, who leaned out of his automobile 
curious to see what drivers had the skill and the nerve to 
pass him at the trot in close column with one wheel in the 
ditch and the other within six inches of his fender. The long 
hours of equitation during the many weeks of bitterly cold winter 



weather had caused some grumbling, but this drill carried on 
under the watchful and skillful direction of the regimental 
commander had made excellent horsemen. The battery was 
to profit by this in France where the drivers of Battery F 
always successfully maneuvered their teams over most diffi- 
cult ground. 

For nearly a year the regiment lived and drilled at Camp 
Sherman. After the first few days it was commanded first by 
Lt.-Col. William F. Morrison and then by Col. Louis T. 
Boisseau. Both of these officers held the welfare of their 
men to be a first consideration. The battery commanders 
could generally count on a sympathetic reception of all sug- 
gestions for increasing the comfort of their batteries. When 
just complaints were received at regimental headquarters, 
emanating from the batteries, the causes were removed 
where possible, or the complaints were forwarded to higher 
authority. Every effort was made to clothe the men and to 
provide good food, and when shortages occurred it was 
seldom through neglect by regimental officers. In the 
spring, night marches became the fashion. Each night as 
the returning regiment filed past headquarters on the way 
to the stables, it was inspected by Colonel Boisseau himself, 
who personally gave each battery commander an order as to 
the care of the horses and the provisioning of the men with 
bread and hot coffee. He was the last commanding officer 
of the 323d F. A. to see his men to bed. 

Finally the great day came and the regiment set out for 
France. Sixty new recruits had been assigned prior to 
leaving Camp Sherman, but the battery was able to assimi- 
late these men. No officer in the division could have been 
more proud of his outfit or more confident in its ability to 
face the future than the captain of Battery F. Whatever 
was ahead, the battery could meet it with the knowledge 
that it was an organization composed of men who stuck 
together, who knew how to get things done, and who could 
learn a new job or a new way to do an old one. More- 
over, they had mastered the elements of military duty. 
They obeyed promptly and cheerfully. They knew how to 
ride a horse and to drive a team. They could shoot a three- 
inch field piece with speed and accuracy. They could march, 
they could make and pack their rolls. They knew how to care 



for themselves and for their horses when in the field. The 
battery had able, enthusiastic and well-trained junior officers. 
I'he first sergeant was botli loved and feared by the men. 
The sergeants were leaders, the corporals could lay their 
guns, the cooks could get a meal out of a tin can. And all 
were aware that we did not know it all. 

The following pages contain two vivid accounts of the 
work of Battery F in France and Germany and it is not 
proposed to review here its service in the A. E. F. Never- 
theless certain events and facts stand out in relief as illustrat- 
ing the qualities which especially increased the respect and 
admiration for his men which the B. C. had long before 
acquired. First of all there came to Maure a new colonel. 
At the time any change from the indiflPerence of the preceding 
commanding officer seemed welcome. For the enlisted men of 
the regiment it was probably amusing to see their officers 
run off on a fool's errand at the command "Go." Nor did 
they object to the interruption of a gun drill at the 75's 
by a wild game of follow the leader. But they, too, felt the 
effects of a wild man's whims when, after having been 
crowded into the second story loft of a barn, they were com- 
manded to jump out, the last man to be court-martialed, or 
when aroused out of a well-earned sleep by the call to arms, 
they were ordered to turn the colonel's fourgon around. For 
the battery commander the four weeks at Coetquidan 
were filled with anxiety. The control of his battery seemed 
to be slipping aw^ay from him under the disorganizing 
authority of an irrational mind. Every principle of good 
discipline, of organization, of correct instruction was violated 
and the results in the battery were apparent. It was with 
thankfulness that the B. C. boarded the train for the front, 
once more the master of his unit and not likely to be inter- 
fered with. To his great satisfaction, he found that he still 
had the same dependable outfit. 

Ignorance or incompetence on the part of higher com- 
manders, when converted into action through their orders, 
leads to very great worry and mental distress on the part of 
subordinate officers, who see their men compelled to endure 
unnecessary and sometimes very great hardship, dangers, and 
even death, and yet are themselves unable to alter the situa- 
tion. Indeed the company officers must usually give the 



ultimate order which causes the disaster. In spite of the 
echelon near Esnes and of the gun position selected for us 
at Ecure}', F Battery had no casualties on this account, but 
many irritating incidents occurred which called for the exercise 
of the utmost patience and self control. At Cote-de-Talou a 
change in command took place. The new colonel announced 
to his officers that from henceforth the regiment would cease 
to be a pink tea and pajama outfit. At this time there were 
officers and men who were in the saddle sixty continuous 
hours. It was on Cote-de-Talou that men carrying ammuni- 
tion fell to the ground exhausted and unconscious and could 
only be aroused to the essential tasks by kicks on the feet 
and legs. It v/as a day later that at noon the second battalion 
was ordered deprived of its only meal in twenty-four hours 
so that all might be ready to limber up the guns at dusk. 
Every officer and man in the battalion, except the colonel, 
knew that half an hour was sufficient time in which to prepare 
for the movement, yet only the intervention of the ever intelli- 
gent and energetic battalion commander, Major Fibich, saved 
the batteries from a night of starving. A week later this same 
colonel telephoned the second battalion command post several 
times one busy morning to know why a few Y. M. C. A. 
cookies had been distributed among the men at the guns while 
none had been sent to his dugout. Such stories were repeated 
throughout the regiment and exaggerated in true soldier 
fashion. They were the cause of much forceful language, but 
they deserve remembrance for the fact that they did not 
lessen the ardor and willingness of the men. These things, 
however, were trivial in comparison to the blunders of 
higher officers. In war, individuals and great bodies of men 
must often be sacrificed to attain a military purpose. But 
this justification can never be made of the conduct of the 
marches of the 158th F. A. Brigade. There can be no excuse 
for ordering an entire brigade of field artillery to be prepared 
to take the same road at nearly the same place at the same 
moment. There could be no military reason for allowing 
the necessarily slow moving, road blocking, heavy regiment 
to lead the column. Yet both of these stupid blunders 
were committed up to the date of the armistice. The 
suffering of the men and animals because of the long delays 
in the rain and cold is beyond description. Their vitality was 



greatly impaired and yet Battery F never lost a man by 
straggling. During the war it never had a straggler and 
only once thereafter, when two men came into a German 
village a few minutes behind the column. For the battery 
this is its proudest boast. No greater test of all soldierly 
qualities could have been made than by these night marches 
on the shell-torn, traffic-crowded roads, in the cold and the 
wet. Yet neither the battery nor any member of it ever 
faltered by the wayside. The strength of purpose and the 
unfailing fortitude thus shown are more admirable in a soldier 
than all else save courage. 

The march into Germany was made in daylight and in 
the main was well conducted. Errors, such as the omission 
of the noonday halt and meal, were eventually remedied. 
But what was saved to the men by more intelligent direc- 
tion was lost by a brutal conception of discipline. The discipline 
usually enforced by the officer of the old regular army is 
based on fear. Punishment is the club by which men are 
driven to their tasks. In the A. E. F., after the armistice as 
well as during active military operations, the S. O. S. 
loomed before every army ofiicer, from the division commander 
down, wdio incurred the displeasure of his superior. The 
exercise of this power was summary and arbitrary. The 
unfortunate officer had not even the benefit of a court 
martial or a trial l)efore an impartial tribunal. Subsequent 
incjuiry at the reclassification depot, even if it ended in 
exoneration, did not remove the disgrace and shame 
previously suffered. No one can deny that fear as a motive 
is potent and certainly the enlisted men felt its effects. The 
fear that some inspector might criticise the appearance of 
the brigade led to the most outrageous requirements. No 
one ever justly complained of strict and elaborate care of the 
animals. Every man knew that the mobility of his battery 
depended upon the survival of the horses and that the lives 
of the horses depended upon the attention given them. 
The ever present want of grooming kits complicated matters 
and made the chores difficult. All the more vexatious on 
this account were the orders that before the men could rest 
after an all day's march every carriage and every strap 
of harness must be cleaned of mud, although within five 
minutes of its taking the road they would again be 



spattered. The three days' halts, ostensibly for rest, were 
harder than marching. Under constant threats of the S. O. S., 
the battery commanders were compelled to tear their harness 
down, scrape each strap with sticks, wash it in water, 
although there was seldom any saddle soap or other dress- 
ing. Incessant inspections w^ere made of the exterior of 
the men and material, but no inspector ever glanced through 
the bore of the guns and very seldom was time allotted to 
the men for bathing themselves or washing their under- 
clothes and socks. The smearing of the gun carriages and 
helmets with the precious recoil oil became a joke in Germany 
when there were comparatively comfortable quarters, good 
food and plenty of sleep — an expensive joke, to be sure. But 
on the march these absurd requirements were harsh and 
morale-destroying. Heretofore the discipline in F Battery had 
always been based on the principal that fear is a less effec- 
tive motive than good will ; that men can be led where they 
cannot be forced; that punishment is seldom desirable, but 
encouragement always so; and that, when generously treated, 
men are honest and faithful, loyal and hard-working, and 
that real discipline is self-imposed. So far these principles 
had worked in practice. Since abuse transforms good will to 
resentment, and injustice destroys loyalty, and imposition 
makes hard-working men loafers, and since angry men, 
fearing punishment sham work but accomplish nothing, it 
was not surprising that the entire battery showed the deleteri- 
ous effect of the "discipline" enforced by the high commanders. 
But these things were overcome. By the time the battery had 
occupied Dernbach it had once more regained its esprit. It 
never had accomplished more than it did during the first week 
in the new home. There is nothing more praiseworthy in its 
history. As it had previously overcome physical hardship, it 
had now recovered its morale, lessened through no fault of 
its own. 

Of the work done on the firing line, little need be said 
here. Despite the brief time for training in France, the 
323d F. A. knew how to perform its task and did it in a 
manner above criticism. Its skill of course was relative and 
great improvement was shown as time went on. Had the war 
continued, it would have reached a perfection unsurpassed by 
any artillery. As it was, it never failed to lay down satisfac- 



torily any fire which was requested of it. When first the shells 
left the muzzles of the guns on Cote-de-Talou, all felt the 
elation of having begun the fulfillment of the great purpose 
for which we had come. Those seven hours were hours of 
great joy to the gunners. Many who when they came to 
France had not known why America had entered the war, 
had long since learned it from what they had seen to the west 
of the Meuse. The Yank did not see visions. He was not 
looking into the sky at mirages. He gazed strai<.4it ahead and 
if he could see further than the first Hun, it was the Rhine 
and Berlin that he saw. So a few days later on Brabant Hill, 
in spite of all the weariness of body, the battery was filled 
with exultation when, in plain sight of the gunners and under 
the protection of their fire, the line of the attacking dough-boys 
swept up and over the neighboring crest. For once the bat- 
tery saw the effect of its shells upon the enemy and it knew 
its power as an instrument of offense. But that was the last 
the gunners saw of their own work and the ne::t three weeks 
tested the stamina of the men. Constant firing strained their 
fortitude and incessant shelling put their courage to proof. In 
notliing did they fail. Day and niglit. they ?ent messages of 
victory in the form of high explosive and gas into the German 
lines; night and day, they took without flinching the pounding 
with which the enemy reciprocated. Finally came that morn- 
ing in Fcurcy, when, in the midst of the hottest half hour of 
the war, the wires brought the command, "Cease fire. The 
armistice is signed." Never in all history was there more 
universal and more profound satisfaction. Peace reigned in 
the Western Front. The Allies had won the war. 

Of his share in the victory every man of F Battery may 
be proud. The American Army performed miracles and 
achieved a tremendous triumph. The part of each unit was 
very small in relation to the vrhole. But such as it was, if well 
taken, it called out all that was in the individual of bravery, 
determination, good humor, and moral and physical endurance. 
None of us did everything perfectly. Each must be conscious 
of faults committed. But Battery F, 323d F. A. did its full 
duty and did it splendidly. That its record was as faultless as 
was human is due to the character of the men who composed it. 

John B. Dempsey. 



F Battery 



HAVING a horror of the idea of performing the duties 
of an enlisted man in the war that was sure to come, 
many civilians rushed into the various officers train- 
ing camps, that were opened to fit men to be officers in the 
new National Army. After three long months of the hardest 
training possible, all, with few exceptions, emerged with com- 
missions, ranking from Majors down to Second Lieutenants. 
With special order No. 89 Headquarters Citizens Training 
Camp, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., August 15, 1917, plac- 
ing them on active duty, and Regimental Special Order No. 1, 
323rd L. F. A., tucked away in the pocket of their newly 
acquired uniform. Captain John B. Dempsey, First Lieutenant 
Herman N. Archer, Second Lieutenants Boyce E. Bradford, 
Lee W. Breese, Floj^d B. Calhoun, Jefferson Patterson and 
Willard Wilson became the "last but not least" battery of 
the regiment, namely "F," reporting for duty with battery 
August 30, 1917. 

On September 4th, a train loaded with the first contingent 
of Western Pennsylvania men for Camp Sherman rolled out 
of the station at Rochester, Pa., and many a fellow started 
on what he thought would be a short vacation. Pulling into 
Chillicothe, Ohio, at dusk on September 5th, we were lined 
up in our first formation while one man, supposedly an officer, 
looked down our throats, for what, no one ever knew, and 
another went through our pockets and baggage to see if we 
had a "quart or a gun." We were then loaded in large 
trucks and rushed out to Camp Sherman, Section P, where 
at regimental headquarters we were given a bit of cold supper; 
then we were issued two O. D. blankets and a bed sack, 
filling our bed sacks with straw we found a cot and had some 
"Sergeant" whom we were scared to death of at the time, 
show us how "we make a bed in the Regulars." 

The next morning about five-thirty we were awakened by 
an awful noise from the bugler, that noise we have never 
forgotten. No one stirred until a voice bellowed, "outside, 



A History of Battery F J2jd Field Artillery 

everybody." There the roll was called to see if any of us 
had gotten homesick during the night and decided that the 
army was no place for us. Everyone being present we were 
left to wash and eat breakfast. Shortly after breakfast we 
were all fallen out to pick up the cigarette butts and papers 
we had thrown out of the window the night before. Then 
we were sorted out like sheep and assigned to the different 
batteries. Little was done except police duty until another 
shipment of "fighters" could be received, so that each battery 
might have at least a squad. On September 9, 1917, at 8 
P. M. the second contingent arrived and after going through 
the preliminaries they were assigned to the different batteries. 
Battery "F" now had 18 men and on September 12th, headed 
by Captain Dempsey we took possession of our new home, 
barracks No. 23 P. Army style we cleaned house and made 
the place fit to live in. Our family was prophesied to increase 
by about 175 men within the next few days, so 200 iron cots 
were arranged in rows and a bed sack filled with straw was 
placed on each one. 

After drilling for about ten days on the smooth corn 
stubbled drill fields, with "Society Brand" shoes, which sud- 
denly became too small for us, and civilian clothes without 
a change, with the sun at 106° Fahrenheit, the good news came 
that we would be issued uniforms. First came marching 
shoes, broad toes and plenty large, what a relief. Next 
came breeches, if they were large enough in the leg they 
would go around the waist about twice, and right here was 
where Sergeant Voemastek's troubles started. Then came 
the O. D. Shirts. JVool shirts in summer! Only officers would 
have the heart to make a man wear them, and they had 
cotton O. D.'s so why should they care. Finally we were 
all outfitted with the necessary underwear and socks and then 
came the campaign hat, never did you think there were so 
many square-heads in the world until you saw the bunch 
rummaging through a pile of new, stiff service hats, trying 
to find one that would sit on their dome without covering 
their ears. Everyone dressed up in the new outfit, was 
lined up and marched over to Section B, where we were 
given that never to be forgotten "first shot." After we had 

2 



A History of Battery F S^sd Field Artillery 

helped to bring back to life those who had fainted, we 
staggered back over to the barracks and hit the cot. In an 
hour or so our shoulders started getting sore, we had an 
awful headache, if anybody spoke to us we wanted them 
court-martialed, we couldn't eat any supper and every time 
we tried to roll over during the night the fellow next to us 
heard something like this *_*!?"!"*_*_ Next mornins: our 





Crarcion Kaybiim Simpson 

The "Top" 

left arm was sore and swollen and then we happened to 
remember that while one man was pumping typhoid fever into 
our backs another was scratching our arm and making it 
sick with the smallpox. By order, we were given 24 hours 
off duty, which started many a "Goldbricker's" career. 

Army life, like married life, is one damned thing after 
another. Having gone through a thorough physical inspection 
every day for about a week, to see if our heart was strong 

3 



A History of Battery F S^sd Field Artillery 

enough to stand the disappointments that were coming, if 
our lungs were strong enough to stand the gas that was ever 
present, and if our eyes were good enough to see through 
everything that we were told, and the medics having decided 
that everyone was perfectly able to shoulder his share of the 
burden, we were started to work building dummy three-inch 
guns out of the scrap lumber that was lying about. This was 
considered necessary to teach the "recruit" the difference be- 
tween the Artillery and the Infantry. They also proved to be 
of great assistance to the officers in establishing prestige. They 
would gather the recruits about themselves and the dummy 
guns and explain the uses of all the absent parts, the parts 
that could not be made from wood, leaving the impression 
that they had digested three-fourths of the Artillery Manuals 
ever issued. 

The colonel not being satisfied with the architecture of 
his home in Section P ordered his official family to move into 
Section R. Gathering together what few worldly possessions 
we now had, we took possession of Section R and made ready 
to receive the third contingent. On the night of September 
18, 1917, a train pulled up behind the Base Hospital and a 
mass of muttering, grumbling men rolled out into the dark- 
ness and lined up for roll-call. The sputtering resembled the 
hum of a Chop Suey Shop: Vincenzo Colantonio, Guiseppe 
Jolosyuski, Policronis Pagonachi, Bronislaw Ricinski and 
Dementrio Sarikake. Each man not only had a name, but, 
like a box car, had a number, and with no response to the 
summons by name, Lieutenant Piatt resorted to the numbers 
and found that most of the men knew their numbers better 
than their names. All men being present, physically if not 
mentally, they were assigned to the various batteries and then 
were put under the charge of the acting non-commissioned 
officers — those old hands who had served at least ten days 
in the army. 

These men were put through the mill and assorting 
process, some were discharged on account of physical ailments, 
some were alien enemies and then came the great outlet ; all 
men who were undesirable for this branch of service could 
be transferred to the Depot Brigade. Captain Dempsey seiz- 

4 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

ing his opportunity, transferred every man whose name he 
could not pronounce. A few, as is always the case, tried to 
get exempted even at this late date. For instance, our friend 
Sullivan Rock, whose leg had been broken between two box 
cars, years ago, claimed that a man with a box car leg was 
not fit for a soldier. After pleading for exemption on the 
ground of a poor, old, dependent mother back home, with no 
success, he all of a sudden became unable to walk on account 
of his leg. Upon the recommendation of the medics for light 
work he was given a job as permanent Latrine Orderly. 

On the evening of October 7th, the regiment was as- 
sembled in front of Regimental Headquarters for formal 
retreat. Here the men of the battery saw for the first time 
a few of their friends come into possession of that which 
made them non-commissioned officers. 

Many of us fellows will have to dress up a story in some 
favorable manner in order to explain to those at home "just 
why we never were made non-com's." But don't be afraid, 
just tell them that the best men in the battery were "bucks" 
and they'll let you off easy. Many a Saturday afternoon or 
Sunday we did kitchen police or stable police, because some- 
time during the week we had forgotten we were in the army 
and had told some corporal to go to Hell ! Remember how 
Captain Dempsey would call us into the orderly room, after 
the corporal had gone at break-neck speed to tell him how 
he had been insulted, and stamping his foot on the floor 
would say "I will not have it, / zvill not have it." Then how 
we would salute, make an about face and go out, all the time 
telling him, under our breath of course, just where he could go. 

The shrewdest men in all the battery have tried to dis- 
cover where Lieutenant Archer conceived the idea of digging 
the dugout in the back yard. Many a hot summer's afternoon, 
with the sweat running down our backs and the sand running 
down our neck we shoveled sand out of that twenty-foot hole, 
planted 10' x 10' posts and built walls out of 2'x4's, to walk 
out the next morning and find that there had been a land 
slide and our board wall was buried under more than two 
tons of sand. After a few suggestions from the French 
Captain, Tommy-Martin, the dugout was finished and "F" 

5 



A History of Battery F s^jd Field Artillery 

Battery was the sole possessor of a real shell proof dugout, 
which a few months later we were sorry had not been 
included in over seas equipment. 

Weird and interesting were the make-shifts by which we 
learned the drill for cannoneers, mounted and dismounted. 
We will long remember the splinters we ran into our fingers 
from the "guns," or the skinned shins we had from falling 
over them, in changing posts. After an hour of that they 
would drag us out into the field and try to teach us what 





The American "75" 

No. 2 of the rear rank did in "Squads Right" and just what 
No. 2 of the front rank did in "Squads Left." Captain 
would then come out with his notebook and pencil and have 
some newly-made sergeant take his section out, give com- 
mands, explain how to execute them, and then have the 
section do it. 

You were graded and that was given you as an excuse 
for not being able to get a pass home for Thanksgiving. For 
many of us, it was the first Thanksgiving away from home, 
and there seemed to be no occasion for thankfulness until 
the battery football players came home the victors and we 
came into a dinner of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cran- 

6 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

berry sauce, radishes, onions, celery, green beans, pie, ice 
cream and cake, coffee, two good cigars and cigarettes, and 
all the cider you wanted. After the dinner the battery as- 
sembled in the annex and had a good time watching Mark Hill 
clean up on a dozen challengers. After hearing a quartet 
render some discords. Captain Dempsey gave a short patriotic 
speech. For the first time since we were innoculated, we 
did not have to stand retreat. 

We had been so busy learning our General Orders and 
saying them backwards for everyone from the colonel down 
to the sergeant of the guard, that we had forgotten to put 
in for a pass for Christmas. It did not make much difference 
for as has always been the case, there were a certain few 
who would go regardless of requests. Well, some of us went 
home and some of us didn't. Those who did had a big time, 
and those who didn't had a fine time eating the turkey and 
things that somehow drifted into camp for that day. Re- 
member how Captain Dempsey obtained his orders to attend 
Fort Sill just in time to go to Oklahoma via Cleveland about 
December 23rd, and how the other officers would argue over 
who wanted to see "Her" the worst. We were all back by 
New Years, and reveille an hour late and "no work" 
except feeding, watering, and grooming the horses was all 
that marked this as the beginning of a new year. 

By this time we had real American three-inch guns and 
about 150 horses. With a blast from Sergeant Rayburn's 
whistle we would grab a grooming kit, stand to heel and "By 
Detail" commence grooming. After we had groomed for an 
hour, never saying a word (out loud) and if we had not lost 
an ear or had any arms or legs kicked off, we went up to 
the gun park and with such patience as only Captain Archer 
possessed we were drilled and redrilled in the "School of the 
Gun Squad" first mounted and then dismounted. While 
most of us were doing this, there was a group of "Selects" 
out over the hills learning to talk by signs, dots, dashes, and 
flags (which later on proved to be a great help in "Cootie 
Drill") and to talk over the field telephone. Now, anyone 
can talk over a telephone in "Cewilian" life, but to always 

7 



A History of Battery F 32^6 Field Artillery 

remember to say "Mr" while talking to the colonel, or "sixth 
battery" when you mean "F," was not so easy as you might 
think. 

During the winter, the battery was visited by two 
epidemics and for several weeks we were quarantined. As 
the ambulance rolled up and took away meningitis and pneu- 
monia victims, we felt for the first time the dangers we 
were facing. Ross Colville, Samuel Ralston, Robert Welch 
and George Winkle died in the Base Hospital. These men 




"Posts" 

gave their lives for the uniform they wore as truly as if 
they had died on the battlefields in France. 

Then came the time when the battery should take its 
turn with the other batteries of the regiment firing the four 
American three-inch guns which the regiment possessed at 
this time, at Stony Creek. Many and interesting were our 
experiences on the marches to and from and while firing on 
the range. Do you remember the big Mince Pies at Pride 
Station store? We will never forget the night practice marches 
up and down the valley, and such experiences as the Columbus 
Interurban car dashing through our column, throwing Fur- 
giuveli from his horse and sending horses with carriages in 
all directions. Then the divisions started moving over seas 

8 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

and, as usual, last of all came the 158th. One day we were 
shoeing horses, preparing to stay all summer and the next 
day we pulled shoes, preparing to leave for France. Working 
every hour of the day and night for a few days, our sailing 
orders were rushed to completion and at 1:15 P. M. o'clock 
June 2, 1918, after many farewells, we boarded the train and 
started east. At ten o'clock the next morning we detrained 
and marched through the streets of Hornell, New York, for 
much needed exercise. Arriving at Port Jarvis, New York, 
at seven P. M., we were given permission to explore the town 
until 10:30. Pulling out of the railroad yards at 6 A. M. 
June 4th, we arrived at New York at 11 o'clock. Every 
man getting his barracks bag we were loaded on a ferry boat 
and sent up the East River, passing many ferries loaded with 
troops ; we semaphored to them finding out where they were 
from and where they were going, giving our identification 
at the same time, also seeing, for the first time for many of 
us, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Woolworth Building and the 
Metropolitan tower. We landed early in the afternoon in 
Brooklyn and took a train for Camp Mills. At 4 P. M. we 
marched with full pack into camp. Here we spent five days 
sleeping in squad tents and sand. This was like all other 
"Army" camps that we had experienced, except for the day 
in New York City, the good eats, which were soon to become 
a mere memory, the outdoor cold showers and last but by no 
means least the Bo Koo inspections. After sitting around all 
night waiting for orders to entrain, we marched to a switch 
and loaded at 4 A. M., June 10, 1918. Arriving in Philadel- 
phia, Pa., at 9 A. M. being served hot coffee and Red Cross 
rolls by the Red Cross women, at the docks, we were carefully 
checked and filed onto the Good Ship Agapcnor at 10 A. M. 
Having explored all recesses of the boat, having tried on half 
the life belts to see if they were all the same, being satisfied 
that the old boat was able to perform her duty, we pulled 
out of the harbor at 2:45 P. M. Stopping in New York 
harbor at 4 P. M. June 12, we again pushed out and arrived 
in Halifax 11 A. M., Sunday, June 16th. We took on coal 

9 



A History of Battery F S^jd Field Artillery 

and provisions and also mailed a card home. Joining our 
convoy Monday morning we sailed out to sea at 2 P. M., 
June 17th. 

Nothing much exciting happening other than one boat 
of the convoy firing at a "submarine" on June 26th. Everyone 
seemingly enjoyed the trip except Emery, Irwin, Covert, 
Samerdyke, and Tompie Young and even they were routed 
out on deck every day by the aroma from the slum, not to 
eat, but to the contrary. The canteen run by the "Bally 
H"engHshman" kept many a poor boy from starving and the 




Thk "Agai-enok' 



ruling that Captain Demj)sey made, making everybody learn 
and say their General Orders before they could get ofif the 
boat helped to spend many a long hour for us. On the 
morning of June 28th, at 8 A. M., we were towed into the 
docks at Birkenhead, England, and after cleaning up the 
old tub, Battery "F" style, we unloaded to the music of a 
Scotch Laddies Band. Marching through the streets, lined 
with the wretched British cockneys, to the railroad station, we 
were loaded into a train that none of us will ever forget ; 
small compartments, eight men to a compartment and more 
comfortal)le than you would think. After entraining we 
were served with hot coffee, rolls and cigarettes. 

10 



A History of Battery F 3^3d Field Artillery 

Stopping at Birmingham about 7 P. M., we were given 
hot cotlee by the W. A. A. C.'s and Hell by the first 
sergeant because we stood out on the platform for a minute 
longer than he thought we should. At 12 :30 that night we 
detrained at Winchester, England, and marched through the 
streets, by the light of a glorious full moon, to Camp Winnal 
Downs. We were three days at this rest camp and then 
crossed the channel on an ancient tub and here is where our 
friend 'Cootie'" was enlisted in the battery. 

On the morning of July 2nd, we landed at Le Havre, 
France, and spent the day at another so-called "Rest Camp." 
Here we laid everything out for inspection, and after it was 
covered with about three inches of sand Captain Dempsey 
announced the colonel would Jiot inspect. On the morning 
of July 3rd, we marched to station and entrained, riding all 
day and night and all of July 4th, in the "8 Chevaux, 40 
Hommes" style of Classy Slow Freight, living on Corned 
Willy and hard tack. Early in the evening we detrained 
at Maure, France, pitched puptents and stayed over night. 
Here a few "buddies" were picked up for sampling the French 
wine after taps. 

Next morning the Second Battalion struck tents and 
marched 8 kilometers to Loheac, which was to be our home 
for seven weeks. Close order drill, long road hikes, gun 
drill and "cidre" were the chief events of any importance. 
The marches to the river swimming, and the back yard 
parties (where you fried veal steak and eggs and had a 
bottle of rouge or blanc wine and if it was soon after payday 
perhaps a bottle of champagne) are memorable good times 
which stand out in our life at Loheac. The night when "F" 
guard arrested "D's" first sergeant and put him in the guard 
house, so that his captain had to come and get him out ; the 
fight between "E" and ' F" the morning Angert broke his 
leg; the night the bunch of non-com's slipped by Sergeant 
Simpson and his guard, whom he had posted all over town to 
catch them, are episodes in our life at Loheac, not to mention 
"Spike." 

The bugle blowing at 4 A. M., breakfast at 4:30, we 
started for Camp Coetquidan at 7 under the command 

11 



A History of Battery F S^^d Field Artillery 

of Lieut. Col. McKinlay ; we were rushed at a "mile a 
minute" speed to Maure, where we rested an hour and 
finished our march to camp at 3:30, tired, hungry, thirsty, 
and dirty. 

Here we were placed in barracks and a lot of real work 
followed. We received our horses and started making daily 
trips to the firing range. Cleaning and adjusting harness, 




Sm::iy 



ViN Blanc 



cleaning and oiling guns and caissons, pistol practice, schools 
of all kinds, grooming, watering, feeding and being on the 
lookout for "Spike" the "when I say go. Go !" Colonel, were 
among the ever3day routine. Such experiences as the time 
we fired all day in the range, changed positions, went into 
the woods pitched shelter tents, and had just gotten to 
sleep in a nice little pool of water, when the bugle blew 
and we had to strike tents, make rolls in the dark, harness 
and hitch and go into camp are what prepared us for such 

12 



A History of Battery F 3236 Field Artillery 

happenings as the night "Spike" had Call to Arms blown 
on the Montfaucon front to have a fire put out in a two by 
twice dug-out. By the time the batteries had made their 
appearance the fire was out, so "Spike" had us turn his 
fourgon around to keep us out in the rain as punishment. 

Saying good-bye to those every evening parades, and 
also to the "fifty centimes for Rosie" girls in the restaurants 
near camp, on Sunday morning September 22nd, through a 
drenching rain, we marched to Guer and entrained for the 
front. After loading the horses and materiel, we were 
assigned to a car, part of the train being second and third 
class coaches and the rest "side door Pullmans." Enjoying 
the rest and the scenery and also the extra jam and things 
that had been bought for the occasion, we spent two days 
and nights on the train. Passing within a few miles of Paris 
we were able to see the Eiffel tower, arriving at Revigny 
at 7 A. M. September 24, 1918. After a breakfast of Corned 
Willy, bread, and coffee, we hurriedly unloaded materiel and 
horses, harnessed and hitched and at 10:15 started our march 
to the firing line. At Revigny we saw our first shelled town 
and marching until 2:30 P. M. we pulled into a field at 
Villotte-devant-Louppy. Here we had dinner, washed up 
aifter our long train ride, ate supper and at 8:20 P. M. 
started on our first night hike on the front. At 3 o'clock 
the morning of September 25th, we pulled into Waly. 
Camouflaging carriages, horses and ourselves in a woods 
near by we "rested" all day. 

We groomed horses, went miles to water them, fed them 
three times, drew rations, carried forage, cleaned clothes and 
materiel and then rested. Late in the afternoon word came 
that we had arrived just in time to take part in the big 
drive that was to start that night. We made rolls, harnessed 
and hitched and at 7 o'clock started on a march that will 
long be remembered as one with thrills and strange sensa- 
tions. No one was allowed to smoke a cigarette for fear 
of aeroplane observation. Messenger motorcycles carrying 
important despatches were going up and down the column, 
traffic was moving in three columns, two toward the front 
and one from the front, ambulances were rushing the 

13 



A History of Battery F 32^d Field Artillery 

wounded back to the hospitals. No man dare to step outside 
the line of wheels on the left or he would have been killed 
by the trafific. The rumbling of carriages, the blasts from the 
whistles of motor drivers, the hum of aeroplanes above, the 
roar of the big guns in the hills ahead, the continuous flashes 
in the sky made a fellow think of home as never before. 
We were just a little more nervous this night than any time 
since we ran our finger up and down the line of names of 
draftees in the home town paper. Many times during our 
frequent halts, boys could be seen with their heads buried 
under a raincoat or underneath a caisson pulling at a 
cigarette. Gradually working our way closer and closer to 
the drama that was taking place before us, we came into a 
town. Here everything was excitement, not a light in the 
town, officers and men running from one building to another 
despatching messengers here and there, loading and starting 
to the rear ambulances loaded with wounded and dying. 
Turning to the left ofif the main road we wound our way 
through a shell torn field lined with a solid net work of 
barbed wire. Here the caissons under the command of 
Lieutenant Bradford joined the caissons from the rest of the 
regiment and started after ammunition, the guns moving on 
to go into park at daylight. Filling our caissons with am- 
munition we parked them along the edge of a woods and 
rested for two hours. Moving on at 7 o'clock under shell 
and shrapnel fire we joined the guns at 11 o'clock. Here 
we saw aeroplanes dropping torches with firing data for the 
artillery and saw our first air battle. Here, during the after- 
noon, we saw a German plane bag two Allied observation 
balloons and saw the observers jump for their lives in 
parachutes. After watching a thousand or more German 
prisoners being marched to the rear we moved on and went 
into position three kilometers north of Parois. Cannoneers 
dug trail holes and carried ammunition while the drivers 
took the horses back to Parois to water and then stretched 
picket lines in the woods on a hill directly back of the 
guns. The driver left the harness on his horses and slept 
behind his team so we could move at a moment's notice. 
Being out of range, unless in a counter attack, the gun crews 

14 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

worked reliefs and were able to snatch a few hours sleep. 
A few large shells trying to search out a large six-inch 
naval rifle within a hundred yards of our position kept us 
awake for a while until weariness got the upper hand of our 
misgivings. At 8 o'clock, morning of September 27th in 
a miserable rain we moved forward. We passed through 
areas where the heaviest fighting had taken place and saw 
wonderful sights of large guns in position, hundreds of ma- 
chine gun nests and whole stretches of forest where not 
a limb was left on a tree. 

Moving along a newly made road which had been 
severely shelled, word came that the road was unpassable 
further ahead, due to the heavy shelling. Colonel Hennessy 
pulled his batteries over into the fields so that trucks loaded 
with "eats" for the dough boys could go on. These trucks 
could not get through and so they unloaded along side of 
the road ; not having had anything to eat but a small amount 
of corned beef hash for a couple of days we manceuvered 
around and got a loaf of bread and anything else we could 
"salvage" before the M. P.'s were put guarding it. Finding 
no way to get the supplies up to the doughboys the colonel 
took charge of them and at the word "Go !" they were dis- 
tributed among the batteries, giving us our first real meal 
for several days. Making this place our echelon, the guns 
were moved a kilometer up the road and put in position one- 
half kilometer west of Esnes. Here we stayed for six days, 
carrying the mess from the echelon up to the gun squads, 
and doing the many and odd jobs that "Spike" found for us. 
Due to the muddy and crowded conditions of the roads the 
problem of supplying the firing line with ammunition was 
a serious one, so a call was sent out for someone to bring 
up ammunition to batteries located on Montfaucon. 

As was ever the spirit of the 323rd, it volunteered to 
make the trip and on September 30th, at 3 o'clock, a train 
of caissons filled with shells started for the first line support. 
Never will we forget that horrible night, pulling through the 
worst shell torn stretch of woods in the whole Argonne with 
an engineer every ten yards, shouting out in the coal blackness 
of the night, "keep to your right, now to your left," passing 

15 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

hundreds of wounded doughboys working their way to the 
rear and seeing many dead, we reached our goal at midnight, 
and in a torrent of rain delivered our ammunition to each 
battery and started back. Not getting far when daylight 
came we pulled off the road, watered our horses and lined 
up at an Engineers' kitchen for a cup of hot coffee, and rested 
for a few hours until we could move on. 

Traffic on main road was so congested that it was impos- 
sible to move. Continuing our march at noon we pulled out 
to the main road and waited until 6 P. M., when traffic started 
to moye for the first time since 6 A. M., permitting us to 
arrive back at the echelon at 4 A. M. on the morning of 
October 1st. Gathering with the regiment in park at 6 
o'clock on evening of October 2nd, we waited until midnight 
when the order came to move, "F" Battery being the only 
battery in the regiment to move out without getting a caisson 
or fourgon in a shell hole. Marching until late the next 
morning, October 3rd, we pulled into Camp Gallieni, two 
kilometers east of Nixeville. Establishing this as our echelon, 
the guns were moved during the night and at daybreak had 
reached the ruined city of Verdun. Here we stayed until 
night when the horses came up and moved us on to a 
position on a hillside near Cote-de-Talou, better remembered 
as "on the canal." Captain Dempsey taken suddenly sick at 
Gallieni, Lieutenant Bradford was for two days in command 
of the battery and very ably put the battery in readiness 
to fire its first barrage. Here for two nights we carried 
ammunition to the guns, up a slippery hillside, until almost 
exhausted, when, on the morning of October 8th, starting 
at 5 o'clock, we opened up a seven-hour barrage. From the 
O. P. the B. C. detail men could see our barrage driving the 
Hun out and could see the doughboys go over the top and 
bring back prisoners. Here on the afternoon of October 9th, 
we saw three hundred Allied planes in formation, fly over 
the German lines and return. 

On the evening of October the 9th, we moved out. 
Marching all night we went into position at daybreak along 
the main road, about a kilometer north of the ruined town, 
Brabant, this position being officially known as Brabant-sur- 

16 



A History of Battery F j^jrf Field Artillery 

Meuse. Here the batteries moved in under machine gun 
range and in plain view of the Germans we put our guns 
in position. Establishing a brigade echelon back on the canal 
about three kilometers the entire brigade settled down to a 
twenty days hammering process. The gun squads having their 
gun pits and trenches finished, started to work digging shelters 
for the crews. With Sergeant Rayburn at the echelon, Instru- 
ment Sergeant Simpson acting first sergeant at the guns, the 
necessary details were working all hours of the day and night 
carrying ammunition for Sergeant Riggs or rations for Mess 
Sergeant Gib Groscost. Along in the "wee" hours of the 
morning the gas horn would squawk out its warning and 
everyone slapped on their gas masks, Captain Dempsey send- 
ing for Gas Sergeant Bob Groscost to see what kind of gas 
Heiney was serving for breakfast this morning. There are 
many soldiers wearing the D. S. C., but in the words of 
Cook Liebler, "if they were given where they were deserved 
they would be as common among the cooks of the A. E. F. 
as are the Got Mit Uns buckles." (Cook Liebler having 
a gross lot of "buckles.") With the kitchen between us 
and the Boche, the cooks and K. P.'s braved the heavy 
shelling which was constantly going on in the valley and had 
the best meals possible out of the rations issued ready and 
on time every day. Crawling under the kitchen stove for 
protection while shrapnel balls and fragments of shells punc- 
tured three fourths of their cooking utensils, the cooks would 
pass it oflF with a laugh at Cook Dimett, shouting, "Zero, zero, 
3500." Here in "death valley" the cook force suffered three 
casualties, Raymond E. Barnhardt, Albert T. Uhlenbrock 
and Alfred Koenig, and lost our first killed in action, Mascot 
"Spike," the dog. Any hour of the night you were likely 
to hear, "Section Chiefs report," and after the sergeants had 
been given the new barrage we were pulled out of bed and 
would feed H. E. shell to our gun until morning. 

On the echelon we were grooming horses and burying 
many, worn out by our hard marches, making trips all over 
the country for ammunition and dodging of Fritz's "compli- 
ments," which he sent over at regular intervals. Trying to 
get enough to eat, taking baths in the river, grazing horses 

17 



A History of Battery F J^jJ Field Artillery 

on gassed grass and making trips to the guns with supplies, 
took up most of our time. We don't want to leave the 
impression with those at home that we had a cafeteria lunch 
room up here, but we could drop into Vine Young's trench 
kitchen any hour up to 10 P. M. and get hot cakes, with butter 
and molasses, French or German fried potatoes, fried bread 
and coffee, FREE. All we needed to do was join the salvag- 
ing detail some day and help bring in the booty. 

After spending three weeks in this position, going 
through such experiences as losing Phillips, who was killed 
while carrying ammunition to his gun during a heavy barrage, 
sending several wounded back to the hospital, and seeing 
"the ambulance," on the night of October 29th, at midnight, 
we pulled out. Going back through Brabant we marched 
all night, stopping at Glorieux at 6 o'clock for hot coffee, 
taking again the main road and following arrows marked 
"Rail Head," we were almost sure we were going to Bar-le- 
Duc as was the rumor. Winding our way around five miles 
of road we ended up in Camp Gallieni, which we had left 
one month before. After a good night's sleep we cleaned up 
and were issued some new clothing and rubber boots. Leav- 
ing at 6 in the evening of October 31st, we marched all night, 
going through Bois-de-Bethelainville and Bois-de-Montfaucon. 
Here we saw a woman giving a speech to a large mob of soldiers 
and also a column of prisoners being marched to the rear. 
We pulled into the woods about noon and had some trouble 
in parking our carriages without getting into a shell hole. 
Sergeant Groscost getting the kitchen smoking, we had slum 
in a couple of hours and then tried to rest for a while. 
Orders came to move at dusk, and we harnessed and were 
ready to go at 5 o'clock. The 324th, heavy guns, being in the 
lead and getting hub deep in mud, held up the column 
for many hours. We had supper while we were waiting 
and it being wet and cold proceeded to build a fire and to try 
to be comfortable. One fire going, in a short time dozens 
could be seen all over the woods. Some of us ventured off 
and found small dugouts where we could get in out of the rain 
and were fixed with places for fires. Patiently for a while, 
then impatiently, we waited in the rain until 1 o'clock in 

18 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

the morning, when our Hne started moving and as was always 
the case "F" moved out without a hitch. 

On the morning of November 3rd, we pulled into the Ferme 
de Madeleine, and camouflaging our guns as well as possible 
we stretched out on the ground to sleep. Word coming that 
we would stay here for a few days the carriages were parked 
and a picket line stretched. Our spare time was spent salvag- 
ing and sight seeing. Word coming some time about noon that 
we would move, we made rolls and packed them on the car- 
riages. After standing through a drizzling rain all afternoon, 
we moved out at 6 o'clock without having eaten supper. 
Pulling down through the town of Cunel, we marched all 
night over a shell-torn road and being nearly exhausted 
we parked our carriages in a valley two kilometers southwest 
of Haraumont and rested for four hours. We moved on at 
10 o'clock under the eyes of General Fleming, and here 
we saw some of the "fruits of our labors" of a few days 
past, when we were firing into this valley. Dead horses 
and Germans lined the road on either side for some distance. 
Passing many wounded on their way to the hospital, we 
arrived on top of a hill overlooking the town, Ecurey. Here 
we lay under shrapnel fire until 5 o'clock when we were 
ordered to go into a position at the outskirts of the town. 
Moving down the hillside in the face of a heavy German 
barrage we were halted at the edge of town, and waited for 
the Germans to lift their barrage from the spot where we 
later went into position. Laying the battery by the North 
Star the guns were in position and ready for a barrage at 
8 o'clock that night. No order to fire came until 6 o'clock 
on the morning of November 11th, when we fired thirty- 
two rounds backing the 32nd division when the word of the 
armistice arrived with command "Cease fire." No one of us 
will ever forget the feelings we had that morning when we 
heard the war was over, heard the band playing and saw 
the Stars and Stripes pulled to the top of many buildings in 
this shell-wrecked town. After we had made sure that 
Heiney was not fooling us and that no more G. I.'s were 
coming over, we policed up our clothes, took baths and found 

19 



A History of Battery F J^jrf Field Artillery 

a house that had a roof over it to sleep in. After a six 
days' stay in Ecurey we started on our memorable "March to 
the Rhine" at 2 o'clock afternoon of November 16th, 1918. 

Being a part of the advanced guard following the German 
army in their retreat, we were the first battery of artillery to 
pull into the town of Jametz. Horses and men sleeping 
together in some German aeroplane hangars, we rested until 
4 o'clock next morning, when we resumed our march. Mounted 
M. P.'s and detachments of cavalry scoured the woods on 
either flank for "lingering Boche." We put up for the night 
in some more aeroplane hangars at Noers. Pulling out next 
morning, November 18th, at daybreak we marched all day 
arriving at Cosnes late in the afternoon where we were 
ordered to stay for two days. In history, this stop will be 
called a "Rest," but no one in this battery considered it such. 
We washed and oiled carriages and harness for an inspection, 
drew new clothes, turned in our rubber boots for salvage, just 
at the time when we needed them the worst, and such other 
details as the officers could find for us to do. Leaving here 
as a part of the main body of the advance, on the morning 
of November 20th, we entered Belgium. All towns were 
gaily decorated with the colors of the Allies and large arches 
with the words "Welcome Americans," "Welcome Our Al- 
lies," decorated the main streets. Arriving at the town 
Guerlange in the evening and finding that it was not large 
enough to billet the troops we pitched shelter-halves in a field 
above the town and camped for the night. Some struck out 
for themselves and found barns with full hay mows while 
most of us slept on the wet ground and woke up next morning 
covered with a heavy frost. 

The next morning after having been given an enthusiastic 
welcome by all classes of people of Belgium, we marched 
into a small town in Luxembourg. White fiags were flying 
from all public buildings and great was the contrast between 
welcomes. Only a few heads could be seen protruding from 
windows and no words of greetings were exchanged between 
Luxembourgers and soldiers. We reached Kopstal. which 
was an official stop, about 3 o'clock afternoon of November 
21st, parking our carriages and stretching picket line in an 

20 



A History of Battery F J<?jrf Field Artillery 

orchard on the hillside overlooking the town, we billeted in 
houses and barns and had supper about 8 o'clock. Next 
morning we pulled up a steep, slippery hill, some horses 
going down several times, and marched till the middle of the 
afternoon when we parked our carriages in a field at Im- 
bringen. No time on our march did we ever have a full 
ration, but this time we came near having no ration. Lieu- 
tenant Holz took the old native wagon and went across 
country to a warehouse where he drew one hundred pounds 
of German flour, middlings, and brought it back for us to make 
into "flap-jacks." Whether it was because it was "Hun flour" 
or because it had been drafted into the American Army, we did 
not know, but after several hours of hard work next morning 
we were sure it would not make flap-jacks. With one spoonful 
of potatoes under our belt we started on toward Beidweiler. 

Arriving at Beidweiler in the afternoon, we parked car- 
riages and stretched picket line in a meadow field at the edge 
of the town. We billeted in barns and a school house and had 
the kitchen in the school house yard. This was the first stop 
of any length of time we had had with German-speaking people, 
and we found them to be very friendly and willing to share 
with us what little they had. Buying a hog for two-hundred 
dollars we had roast pork for our first Thanksgiving dinner on 
foreign soil and after a week of cleaning harness and carriages, 
in the rain, and innumerable inspections, we started for the 
German border. Pulling into an orchard, parking carriages 
and getting field kitchen to smoking we took our packs and 
went a couple of hundred yards down the road to a large barn, 
where the whole battery slept. Some of the boys went out to 
see what "Noah" had named the town, and found it to be 
Alsdorf, Germany, Here we could buy a small bag of lump 
sugar for five francs and some real German "schnapps." 

Next morning, December 2nd, we started our day's march 
at 8 o'clock, but to the surprise of all we pulled into a field at 
the right of the road about 10 o'clock and unhitched and unhar- 
nessed. Again we cleaned harness and carriages and had an 
inspection. Going two kilometers down into the valley to a 
town called Messerich, we watered horses in a stream and 
stretched picket line just back of an old stone church. The 

21 



A History of Battery F ^2^d Field Artillery 

greater part of the battery was billeted in a large barn 
at the village "Gas House" and the kitchen was put into action 
directly across the street. A small amount of underwear and 
socks was issued by Sergeant Lenhoff, and Captain Scarborough 
gave the battery a foot inspection. Having been marching 
from daylight until dark every day, and many of the boys 
having blisters upon blisters on their feet, the doctor told them 
to bathe their feet five or six times a day in cold water, and 
never even smiled when he told them. 

Bright and early next morning, December 3rd, we con- 
tinued our march. Now some one of the high command had 
a change of heart and decided not to make us march all day 
without any dinner, so we were issued a can of Corned Willy 
to every five men and half a box of hard tack per man. We 
stopped at noon to feed the horses and eat our "issue" and then 
proceeded on to Ginsdorf. This place was considered large 
enough to shelter the whole regiment, so in a large pasture field 
at the far end of town, the regiment went into park. The 
first battalion on the left hand side of the road and the second 
battalion, two hundred yards further up and on the right hand 
side. Going through the usual cleaning proceedings the battery 
marched up to a German's barn and each man carried back 
an arm load of hay. Captain Dempsey having quite a time 
making the German understand that he v/ould get paid for it 
"some day." Resting here over the 4th we had a chance to 
shave, police up and get a little rest. Morning of the fifth 
we started on what was the longest day's march we ever had. 
Alarching until the moon was up, we came to a town where a 
band was playing ; we thought surely this was our stop, but 
upon reaching it, found the 324th was there. Continuing on for 
eight kilometers we pulled olif the main road into a town called 
Udc-sdorf, making a total of forty kilometers for that day. 
Tired and weary, we went down to the crossroads to a forage 
dump to draw feed for the horses only to find the ammunition 
train had the road blocked trying to find a place to stay for 
the night. 

Next morning, December 6th, we pulled by the ammunition 
train and marched till after dark that night. The horses had 
become completely exhausted and our line was at extended 

22 



A History of Battery F s^jd Field Artillery 

distances, when we pulled into Kelburg under the arch lights 
to the music of the 323rd band and under the eyes of Colonel 
Morse. Pulling through town and across a rudely constructed 
wooden bridge, we parked for the night in a swampy field. 
Going on the theory that had there been a guard in the Garden 
of Eden, Adam would not have stolen that apple, the ground 
floor of the only available building, a school house, was used 
for the guard house and several weary boys went forth to 
guard an empty kitchen and a bunch of horses, too tired to 
stand on their feet. About 10 o'clock, when the boys had 
just stretched out, about three deep all over the building, a 
sales commissary truck drove up with a load of Prince Albert 
chewing tobacco and sardines, and needless to say sleep was 
soon forgotten. 

December the 7th we made a short march to a village which 
appeared to date from B. C. and which was called Boos. 
Arriving here at noon we ate our lunch and prepared for a 
"Bo Koo" inspection by General Fleming and Colonel Morse. 
Now the best soldier in the army will get tired of army grub 
occasionally, so our German-speaking members proceeded to 
arrange suppers of roast chicken, roast duck and fried rabbit 
with the German women for groups of men. The thoughts of 
chicken once again made us forget the cost and soon the Ger- 
mans took us to be moneyed fools. Five dollars a plate was 
thought cheap for a piece of chicken, potatoes, apple sauce and 
milk. 

Having had a day's rest, on the morning of the 9th we 
started for our first German city, Mayen. Reaching this stop 
■about 3 P. M., we stretched picket line on one side of a main 
street and parked carriages on the other side. We billeted 
in a fine large apartment house which was so new it had not 
yet been occupied, and then we started out to see the sights. 
This town had street cars, electric street lights, jewelry stores 
and "everything." Next morning, much to our disappointment, 
we moved on and marching until mid-afternoon we halted 
in Kruft. Now by this time the rumors were flying thick and 
fast, about being in Coblenz by December 18th, and going back 
to the states, and our cry was now changed from "when do we 
eat?" to "when do we sail?" This was a three days stop, 

23 



A History of Battery F s^jd Field Artillery 

supposedly to get our materiel ready to turn in, and much elbow 
grease was used on that old French harness to get it into good 
condition. Here we billeted in a theatre and had the kitchen 
just outside. Everything handy and everyone in good spirits, 
thinking we would be on our way home. 

On the morning of December 13th, we left Kruft and 
we supposed we were going to Coblenz, but instead we were 
to miss the city of Coblenz and were to cross the Rhine between 
Coblenz and Neuweid. At 1 :45 in the afternoon the battery 
crossed the Rhine, going over the large steel bridge built by 
Allied prisoners of war during the war. 

Arriving at Heimbach at dusk we pulled through the 
town and parked carriages in a field on the right hand side 
of t)he road, putting the horses in an orchard on the left hand 
side of the road. Lest we should forget that we were still 
at war, it was necessary to stay out in the rain for two 
hours to exchange some ammunition with the first battalion. 
By the time we were ready to go in we were wringing wet 
and then had to sleep in barns or two deep on a kitchen floor. 

Next morning December 14th, we moved out and think- 
ing this to be our last march, we enjoyed the wonderful 
scenery in winding our way up the steep hills of the Western 
Wald. Reaching the village of Ruscheid at noon, we parked 
the carriages in a field, washed them, watered the horses in a 
small stream and tied them in a woods on top of the hill back 
of town. We were billeted in houses where it was warm 
and dry and the next day being Sunday we expected to get 
to rest once where it was comfortable; but Sunday morning, 
December 15th, orders came that we were to move out and 
let the 324th have the town, so we harnessed and hitched and 
moved over to Urbach-Uberdorf. Making our triumphal 
entry into this, a typical German "Dorf," about eleven o'clock 
on Sunday morning, December 15th, we took up a study of 
German Kultur which lasted until January 25, 1919. The 
whole village was out to get their first glimpse of an American 
soldier and as had been the case at all previous stops, we 
made a favorable impression. 

Lieutenant Breese and Corporal Hage started out to find 
quarters for the battery, and to the surprise of all, we were 

24 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

all billetted in houses with the Germans. The Germans were, 
of course, given their orders, and they were ordered to keep 
clean the rooms occupied by the American soldiers and not 
to stay in the room when soldiers were there. As would be 
the case in any country, under such conditions, the Germans 
were uncertain as to the treatment they would get at the 
hands of the Americans and so started in at once to treat 
us kindly and thus encourage good treatment in return. A 
mother's heart is the same, Avhether she 'be German or other- 
wise, and being treated courteously (for a true American 
knew nothing else) these German women soon started favor- 
ing us with hot waffles, apple cake and an every day invitation 
to "Coffee Drinking." 

Getting settled in the place, we started to work trying to 
put meat on our horses' ribs by grooming them for hours 
every day. The horses were bivouacked in a pine woods 
about a kilometer back of the town and every morning before 
breakfast we hiked out there in the dark to feed them. After 
a light breakfast ourselves we would go back out, groom them, 
take them out for a couple of hours exercise, bring them back, 
water them and groom them then until dinner time. The 
afternoons were spent washing and cleaning harness and 
then came retreat, when a few more restrictions were made 
known to us. 

Our slogan had been "Hell, Heaven or Hoboken by 
Christmas," and soon Christmas overtook us and 'twas neither 
Heaven nor Hoboken, so you know what it must have been 
to spend a Christmas over there. Lieutenant Bradford had 
wandered out hunting one morning and shot a deer, so of 
course we expected venison for Christmas dinner, but after 
one look at the deer, the captain ordered two veals so that 
each man could have a taste of fresh meat and not be dis- 
appointed. We woke up Christmas morning to find our first 
heavy snow, making it seem more like a real American 
Christmas. We spent the day wandering from house to house, 
looking at the different Christmas trees, gaily decorated, and 
hearing the German children sing Christmas Carols. The 
week passed quickly and New Years brought another holiday 
for us. 

25 



A History of Battery F J2^d Field Artillery 

One morning we lined up our horses for a physical in- 
spection by Doc Gohde and found that four of them had, not 
cooties,- but glanders. They were killed, of course, and we 
were then put under quarantine, and no horse was allowed to 
leave or enter this area until we were ordered to move over 
to Dernbach on January 25th. Dernbach was a much better 
place in which to live. Our horses were all in barns and we 
were not nearly so crowded. We had a mess hall where we 
could eat our meals and be half-way comfortable; the cooks 
had an almost real kitchen where they had every modern 
inconvenience. Going back to the days of Lincoln, a fellow 
was sentenced to* from one to three days splitting wood in the 
wood pile at the kitchen for any misconduct, and while no 
one in "F" Battery was ever guilty of such a thing, many 
were accused of it and punished accordingly. 

Life was rather slow back here among the hills and the 
continual preparation for inspections by colonels and generals 
kept us from getting homesick, and also kept us from enjoy- 
ing many of the privileges that had been well earned. Home 
talent minstrels and Vaudeville reached us occasionally and 
"Little Greer" at the piano gave us a taste of the latest songs 
from New York. The report was now afloat that we were 
going to sail soon ; most every one accepted it as being the 
truth ; even Captain Dempsey, who had moved to Paris after 
the occupation of Dernbach, heard the news and prepared 
to return to the boys in Germany, but when he learned the 
order was canceled he staid in Paris two v/eeks more, and 
we settled down to await developments. 

In the meantime a few of the battery had a pass back to 
Paris and Aix-les-Bains, and the rest of us spent the time 
hoping for one. Finally the order came for us to move with 
the 32nd Division, and the amount of work to be done in 
the next few days looked almost impossible. But with the 
picture of home before us we could do anything and when 
on Tuesday, April 22, we lined up in front of the schoolhouse 
everything had been done as ordered, and just a little bit more. 

Marching to the main road we loaded in trucks and were 
driven several miles to the train. Here we met again our 
old friends, the box cars, and spent almost four days and 

26 



A History of Battery F j^jrf Field Artillery 

nights in them, getting back to Brest. The trip was not so 
bad as we had expected. We had good eats, considering, and 
had a good time visiting among ourselves. We arrived at 
Brest, France, about one o'clock, the morning of April 26, 
unloaded, piled our packs in groups and lined up at a kitchen 
for supper. Some kitchen! everything moved like clockwork 
and before we had time to realize what was up we had our 
mess kits washed in good hot suds and lined up with our 




Albert! Howarth Wagoner 
Dobbin Elmer 



"HOMMES 40" 



packs ready to march out to Camp Pontanezen. We can't 
say anything good of this Camp, so we will just merely 
mention it. 

To show us how much they appreciated the boys who had 
gone through the front line and then held down a spot in 
Germany for months, they detailed us to crack stone in a 
quarry from 6 P. M. until 6 A. M., and men with rifles and 
bayonets stood guard over us to see that no one shirked. 
Well, we only had eight days of this and then we marched 

27 



A History of Battery F 32jd Field Artillery 

down to the pier to load on some ship and start for God's 
country. Some fellow on the pier would step up and say 
"What outfit is this? I think I have a brother here some- 
where," and when we would look at him and just smile he 
would say, "Oh ! these guys are wise, some one has put them 
next." Loading us in a good sized ferry we slipped out of 
the dock to the Good Ship Von Steuben which we boarded 
about noon, and after being shown to our "state-rooms" we 
lined up for sauerkraut and wieners. 

Now the "Vonnie" was a real ship and unlike the 



^ 




U. S. S. Von Steuben 

Agapcnor there was room to move around without rocking 
the boat. We were scheduled to land in the United States in 
seven days so we lost no time in putting out to sea. Going 
at a good rate of speed, and while the water was smooth for 
the month of May, yet there was considerable motion to the 
ship and not a few of the boys started to feed the fish the 
first day out. We were issued overalls and could lie around 
on deck anywhere without thinking of our uniforms, and sleep 
to our heart's content. Much to the disappointment of some 
of our officers, no formations were allowed on the boat, so 
we were almost free to come and go as we pleased. Rather 

28 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

a peculiar feeling to have, knowing that you are still in the 
Army! The choice men of the battery were chosen to do 
guard duty and thereby got to sleep in the center of the 
boat on the top sleeping deck, and eat with the crew. The 
soda fountain and ship's canteen gave us a chance to sharpen 
our appetites on some "nick-nacks" and also to get rid of a 
large portion of our savings. 

Having sailed from Brest on the afternoon of May 5th we 
saw the lights from the city of Hoboken, N. J., about two 
o'clock in the morning on May 13, and dropping anchor we lay 
here until morning when the ship of Welcome came out and 
escorted us into the pier. Unloading about noon, we were 
served dinner by the Red Cross women at the pier, and then 
loaded on a ferry that took us up the East River to a place 
just back of Camp Merritt. Here we unloaded and with full 
pack we marched up the longest and steepest hill in New 
Jersey, and on into Camp about seven miles. 

We were doomed for the delousing plant again and be- 
fore any one could go to sleep, he with all his woolens must 
be sterilized. Now the war had changed the boundary lines 
in Europe, we knew, but not until we were issued cotton 
O. D.'s in place of our woolens did we know that Pennsyl- 
vania was now a southern state, but we were used to surprises 
by this time and as usual all we did was "moan" about it. 
After we had moved into another section of Camp, life seemed 
to hold more for us. We soon found the "Merritt Hall" and 
that is where many of our dollars rolled away. The 24-hour 
passes were handed out generously and many more dollars 
were put back into circulation in New York, New Jersey and 
Palisade Park. 

Knowing that our battery was soon to break up, Captain 
Dempsey arranged to have a picture taken of the battery and 
each man to be given one. A banquet was prepared by our 
own cooks, who were faithful to the end with the help of 
some camp cooks, and at 7 o'clock one evening the whole 
battery sat down together to a chicken supper. This was the 
first time we had been seated all together in one room since 
the days of Camp Sherman, and needless to say we all appre- 
ciated it. After the supper was finished the officers and 

29 



A History of Battery F j^jrf Field Artillery 

several members of the battery made interesting speeches; 
some old favorite songs were sung, and we broke up to meet 
again some time, somewhere, in the future. That afternoon 
the battery had been divided up according to states, and the 
men were to be sent to Camps in their own states. Men of a 
certain state were put together in barracks, awaiting orders 
to move to that cherished spot where they should be discharged 
and set free once more. Many fond farewells were exchanged, 
and many good friends who had shared, share and share alike, 
parted and started out again for themselves, never to forget 
those who had been kind to them and who had unselfishly 
given their all that it might be easier for "the other fellow." 
So, ended the life of a battery composed of as fine a set 
of boys that ever supported the Stars and Stripes, and who 
at all times worked hard and untiringly to accomplish that 
which they had set out to do. Having reached the goal and 
having done their duty, they went back into civil life better 
men because they had learned to do a thing and do it well, 
and to remember "the other fellow" while doing it. 

McDonald H. Riggs, 

Battery Historian. 



30 



Battery F At The Front 

"/ am actually in the land of military and 
romantic adventures and it only remains to 
be seen zvhat will be my share in them." 

THAT part of our trip to the front which was made by 
rail came to an unexpected end at 5 o'clock in the 
morning of September 23rd. At Coetquidan the camp 
commander had given definite hints that the trip would con- 
sume five days. Therefore we entrained with rations for 
that length of time, and all the harness was removed from 
the horses. Each battery had a train to itself. It consisted 
of fifteen flat cars, one passenger coach, and thirty-two box 
cars, which made a deliberate and motley appearance in its 
progress across France. Most of the box cars were occupied 
by the horses of which we had in the neighborhood of one 
hundred and thirty ; twelve of them were occupied by the 
men who indicated their loss of pride by certain neighings 
and bellowings pertaining to cattle. That showed how green 
we were. It is certain that troops on their way from the 
front feel no humility by riding in "Hommes 40 Chevaux 8." 
It is hard to say whether an original destination of Italy or 
the Vosges was unexpectedly changed to the Verdun front 
on account of the impending offensive, or whether the in- 
dication of a long railroad journey was in conformation with 
a policy which had for its object the concealment of all 
troop movements and prospective operations in that sector. 
In either case the comfortable and settled feeling which we 
were enjoying on the train was disturbed early on the third 
morning. We stopped quietly at Revigny and for ten 
minutes it seemed as though the world, including our train, 
had gone sound asleep. Then Captain Herrick who had 
preceded the regiment by some days opened the door of 
Captain Dempsey's compartment and presented marching 
orders. A thousand questions might have been asked at that 
minute for Captain Herrick's few days of precedence at 
this mysterious place had made him not only a veteran but 

31 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

one who had complete knowledge of what was about to 
befall us. To the few questions that were asked he returned 
answers that fairly bristled with significance, the upshot of 
which was that we had arrived in the zone of "hush-stuff", 
and that big things were afoot. The last conclusion was 
drawn from the fact that billets which had been selected for 
the regiment to occupy, while making a gradual approach to 
the firing line, had been given up and we were under orders 
to proceed with all haste by two night marches to a camp 
in Waly Woods, west of Verdun. 

Detraining was begun at once. The platform was none 
too wide for one battery to straighten itself out on; and to 
increase the appearance of confusion a company of En- 
gineers whose train had pulled in on the opposite side of 
the platform was unloading itself over most of the available 
space — they probably held a corresponding opinion of us. 
By eight o'clock, horses had been fed and watered and 
harnessed, men had breakfasted and all was ready. We filed 
across a bridge over a canal which was so glassy in the 
morning mist and lined with rows of trees so straight that 
no picture ever looked more peaceful. That thought re- 
ceived a severe jolt immediately. Revigny is a systematic 
and complete ruin, which was accomplished by air raids in 
the first year of the war. No debris lay in the street which 
was in perfect repair, but beginning at a definite place every 
house on both sides of the street was blown up in so similar 
a manner that the regularity of what was left was almost 
uncanny. The sight struck a new note on our green-horn 
susceptibilities. Mingled with a feeling of disgust and a 
momentary sensation of the uselessness of war it inspired 
a sort of elation, as though present in a moving picture 
drama. The sight was incontrovertible proof that our ob- 
ject was the bloody Western Front, a fact which had been 
scarcely realized during twelve months of training, first at 
Camp Sherman, Ohio, and then in the Brittany hills so far 
from the war itself. 

We had the road almost to ourself that morning. We 
passed a train of twenty-five French auto trucks drawn up 
alongside the road. They were empty and the fact that they 

32 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

were motionless now seems most extraordinary. The French 
usually kept their trucks on the "qui vive," going no one 
knows where. When we resumed the march our column was 
formed true to the best precepts of Volume Three F. A. D. R. 
The battery commander and reconaissance officer rode at the 
head, then came the B. C. Detail in charge of the instrument 
sergeant. Only six members of the detail were mounted, the 
remaining twelve being on foot. Behind them came the firing 
battery with the cannoneers of each section following their 
respective carriages on "shank's mare," a necessary means of 
propelling the cannoneers when French materiel is used. Then 
came what the infinite wisdom of F. A. D. R. never took 
account of, the rolling kitchen; and, finally, three fourgons 
loaded with rations and forage constituted our battery supply 
train. The order of march of the first day is interesting to 
recall because it was the only time that Battery "F" marched 
as a separate unit at the front; all other times the unit has 
been everything from a battalion to a brigade, a condition 
never before realized in the American Army. 

At Laheycourt we were duly impressed by the motoc 
car of an American general, and wondered if they all stayed 
back that far. It was only four kilometers from Laheyecourt 
to Villotte so at that point the reconaissance officer with a 
small detail rode ahead to discover the woods which we had 
been instructed to occupy. They found batteries "D" and 
"E" with their "puptents" pitched in an open field. Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel McKinlay who was then in command of the 
second battalion had preceded us, and he indicated with un- 
characteristic recklessness that we would occupy the field, 
although a thick woods was close by. Woods are always a 
difficult place to navigate with carriages pulled by six- 
horse teams and it was a real relief to have a clear field 
for the battery when it arrived at the lot. That afternoon 
we had our first glimpse of German wasps. Two speedy 
ones flying at great height passed over us headed south. 
Later an officer of the first battalion which was detraining at 
Revigny during the afternoon reported that an alert was 
sounded when the Boclie planes flew over the town, but no 
bomijs were dropped. One other token from the front was 

33 



A History of Battery F ^2^d Field Artillery 

a camouflaged ambulance. It was all stuck about with 
boughs and green leaves which presented a grimly humorous 
spectacle as they flapped around over the crazy quilt pat- 
tern. The peace of a fine summer day was disturbed by no 
other sights or sounds from the battle tide which had 
receded many kilometers from Villotte, since the day when 
' that town had marked the high water mark of the great 
drive on Verdun in 1916. We had no opportunity during 
the afternoon to see the town which was hidden from us 
by a little orchard ; but when we filed through it after dark 
we had a sight of the jagged remains left by German 
artillery. Villotte is only one of the many thousand heaps of 
debris in France, and during the weeks which followed the 
battery passed through several score without being capable 
of a new sensation for each. 

The second battalion comprising batteries "D", "E", 
"F" and battalion headquarters was now reunited after the 
railroad trip and was destined to remain intact to the end of 
the war. Marching orders arrived mysteriously from some- 
where stating that we would have the use of the road at 
8 o'clock for an all night march of twenty-five kilometers 
to Waly Woods. Everything was ready for the march by 
7 o'clock and eager to get ahead of the game we started 
to pull out on the road which seemed deserted enough. This 
manoeuver quickly taught us the meaning of the phrase "the 
use of the road." The same unseen hand which guided our 
movements also guided those of other units, and we were 
gently but firmly jostled out of the way by a column of 
Engineers which cleared at exactly 8 o'clock. 

The night was fine for marching; a full moon flooded 
the landscape, the air was just fresh enough to be exhilarat- 
ing and to stimulate the senses already alert for any new 
impression. Hours of the night and kilometers of the road 
passed slowly but deliberately by. The absence of prac- 
tically all other traffic was astonishing. Except for a few 
scattered truck trains and an ambulance or two we met no 
other troops all night. One mistep occurred. At the request 
of the battery commander, Colonel McKinlay had marked the 
road on the captain's road map. The colonel with the battalion 

34 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

^taft and a few wagons from the supply train was in the 
lead followed by the tiring batteries in order of "F", "E" 
and "D". Some difficulty with shell holes and soft ground 
delayed Battery "F" kitchen and the following carriages in 
starting, so that it was not noticed that Colonel McKinlay 
with the leading elements had taken a sharp turn to the 
left, away from the prescribed road. No notice was given 
to the battery commander following and no marker was left 
at the cross-roads so that the principal part of the battalion 
kept straight ahead, a half hour lapsing before the officer 
in the lead discovered that the column had lost its guide. 
Up to that time we had proceeded without any lights, even 
smoking having been forbidden, but now a light was indis- 
pensible in order to consult the map. All anxiety was re- 
lieved when it was found that we were on the road indicated 
on the map. During the night an orderly reported that 
Colonel McKinlay, having discovered the loss of two and a 
half batteries, and correctly surmising that we had followed 
his orders, informed us that he with the balance of the 
battalion had taken a short cut and that we would meet him 
at the destination. 

We came to a railroad crossing which was not shown on 
the French map, being one of the newly-built American roads 
leading to the front. Those fine railroads, equipped with Bald- 
win locomotives and American rolling stock are one of the 
most substantial memorials to America's effort in the war. 
The guard at the crossing informed us that General Pershing's 
car had just gone through, and made other remarks relative to 
a great traffic of artillery and tanks. This increased the feeling 
that operations were impending on some tremendous scale. 
During a halt we looked across the rolling fields and saw a 
train winding its way almost silently in the moonlight. Every- 
body in the column counted the cars. There were forty flats 
carrying forty black shapes which could be nothing else 
but tanks. It seemed like an army of little fates creeping in 
the night to overtake his imperial arch-fiend majesty, the 
Kaiser. 

On a rise beyond the railroad there were a number 
of lights which appeared to mark the site of some peaceful 

35 



A History of Battery F 32^6 Field Artillery 

town. This cheerful contrast to the total absence of lights of 
every other description excited our curiosity. There was only 
one explanation for that bold display on a treeless hilltop, and 
that was verified at a road which led toward the lights where 
a lamp post was marked with the red letters "American Evacu- 
ation Hospital No. 9." 

The night was nearly over when we reached Waly. A 
sharp turn to the right led down into dark woods. It was 
like turning off from the freshness and romance of the trip 
into a vale of grim reality. No sensation has a more potent 
effect on a person's thoughts than the sensation of smell. In 
this case it was a smell new in experience but old in the imag- 
ination, the flat, musty odor of the trenches. It emanated from 
a column of infantry which had been relieved but a few hours 
before and which was evidently on its way to rest billets in 
Waly. They passed us in column of twos, walking rather 
fast in broken formation, each man left to his own devices to 
get over the ground. Some of their number had canes, and a 
few others, bandages. They carried no rifles. These had been 
put into a wagon for transportation. The doughboys had packs 
on their backs and carried their steel helmets in their hands. 
Scarcely a remark passed ; all their mental energy was relaxed 
or exhausted, leaving only a mechanical energy sufficient to 
hasten their steps. The incident made a really deep impres- 
sion, first because of the smell, and then because of the 
silence of their passage. It did not seem right to refrain from 
words of greeting, but we have since learned that a matter 
of fact frame of mind given to accepting without emotion any 
situation which may arise is the usual and natural one at the 
front. It is interesting to think that those doughboys never 
returned to the monotony of "trench warfare," for the lines on 
the Verdun front were never stationary after that night. 

We turned into the woods on a road of loose stone which 
at the time was the roughest in our experience ; but it was a 
fine, smooth highway in contrast to the mud and shell holes 
of subsequent days. The officers took great pains to get the 
battery placed under the thickest branches, conducting each car- 
riage personally to the spot it would occupy. The sections 
stretched their own picket lines where the horses would get 

36 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

the best concealment. The horses had to have their rations 
of hay and oats but when that was done most of us chose to 
roll up in our blankets rather than wait ten minutes for the 
breakfast, which was nearly ready. Before going to sleep there 
might have been only one thought in some minds: Just how 
much of an explosion would ensue if a bomb should hit a hut 
filled with Italian machine gun ammunition that was located 
in our midst, and possibly some indistinct memory of a poem 
which started "O Waly, Waly!" 



37 



The Great Barrage of 
September 26, 1918 

"I do not fool myself to let imagination jade 
me." — Malvolio. 

AFTER a few hours of sleep we found ourselves wide 
awake listening to the intermittent sputter from 
machine guns. The noise proceeded from the edge 
of the woods only a couple of hundred yards away. Any- 
body who has been in a city where steel construction work 
is going on and has heard the trip hammers will find that 
machine gun firing sounds familiar, and further, that it in- 
spires no feeling of danger. We never saw those guns but, 
without doubt, they were Frenchmen persuading Boche 
planes to fly high ; it cotild have been nothing else except 
a wild Irishman practicing. A noon sun was shining down 
through the trees so as to make our cover seem highly in- 
adequate. The woods were muddy and the trampled under 
brush was testimony to the many troops which had sotight 
cover there before us. In fact, the strategic location of Waly 
Woods in a little ravine back of the Verdun front made it a 
gate way wdiere in the past vast numbers of troops must 
have taken shelter and a last good rest. We could hear 
faintly and at great distance the reports of big guns, w'hich 
were up there at the limit of our next night journey. 

About three o'clock in the afternoon a messenger 
brought word that all officers would report at double time 
to Colonel Hennessy. This order came suddenly and calling 
for obedience on the run it was typical of all our actions 
during the next few days. The colonel was discovered with 
one foot resting on the motorcycle sidecar which had just 
brought him. He had a large sandwich in one hand and with 
the other he was motioning to outsiders to take themselves 
out of hearing. That motion was the physical expression of 
the "Go!" A word which belonged peculiarly to the colonel 
and which he used on every occasion as a means of bringing 
about sudden and unpremeditated action. It mattered not 

38 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

what confusion might ensue nor how great was the thing to 
be undertaken; the word "Go!" would bring action and the 
result could take care of itself. We can recall exactly the 
tone he was accustomed to use. He would speak rather 
fast and bite ofif each word emphatically : "Now at the word 
*go' you go and DO it" then after a pause: "Go!" high and 
sharp. It was easier than rubbing Aladdin's lamp. Colonel 
Hennessy is universally, almost officially, known as "Spike." 
A name which he wished on himself by the favorite expres- 
sion : "They call me Spike, I nail them to the cross." 

As soon as all the battalion officers were reported to be 
present the colonel caused them to gather close about him 
and began his speech. He had just come from army head- 
quarters, with the latest information. All the guns were in 
place for what was hoped would be the final drive, the 
amount of artillery concentration in that part of the Argonne 
Poorest which lay a few kilometers north of us was prodigi- 
ous. There were guns of every caliber from naval pieces 
operated by sailors to "seventy-fives" placed almost wheel to 
wheel. The drive was scheduled to commence at five o'clock 
on the following morning under a barrage sixteen kilometers 
in depth. Our regiment had arrived just too late to take up 
a position for the barrage, but Colonel Hennessy stated that 
the 323rd was the luckiest artillery regiment in the army 
on account of the distinguished mission which had been 
assigned to it. As soon as darkness should come on we 
would move forward into the battle line, and take up a posi- 
tion of readiness. When the German line had been broken 
our battalion would push through into open warfare. The 
colonel urged that every precaution be taken to insure the 
proper working of gas masks inasmuch as our position of 
readiness would be within a hundred yards of a French 
battery and we could expect counter-battery fire. Even 
more impressive was the colonel's admonition that those 
persons who kept their heads stood a good chance of surviv- 
ing-. He added the further information that Lieutenant- 
Colonel McKinlay had been promoted to the rank of full 
colonel and that he hoped as a result of the battle he would 
succeed him in the command of our regiment. The officers 
were not quite sure whether he was talking of becoming a 

39 



A History of Battery F s^3d Field Artillery 

casualty or a general, and they were still more perplexed 
when he turned to a lieutenant who smiled out loud and 
said: "I don't mean what you mean." As it happened the 
prophesy of being succeeded came true but in an unforeseen 
manner. 

It is often a source of reflection on the part of soldiers 
in training to try to foresee what state of mind they will 
find themselves in and to what sensations they will be a 
prey when about to enter battle. Usually such reflections 
end in acknowledged failure, the question must be settled 
by circumstances themselves. It was being settled for us 
during the two hours of preparation which followed the 
colonel's speech. The deepest emotions had been aroused, 
and the fact that our part in the battle was to be so small 
as scarcely to count could not be foreseen and did not enter 
into our calculations for playing a big part. Feelings, in 
general, partook of two elements, one similar to stage fright 
and the other a sort of elation at being actually present in 
a great adventure. It all resulted from the dramatic cir- 
cumstances of the colonel's speech, and the promise of 
activity. Waiting would have been a harder virtue so it was 
just as the colonel said, we were a lucky regiment. 

We pulled out of Waly Woods at 7 o'clock and 
formed a battalion column in order of batteries "D", "E", 
and "F." In the town of Waly we turned north on the 
main road and headed in the direction of distant flashes 
which resembled little imitations of heat lightning. For a 
few hundred yards we were reminded of the peaceful march 
of the night before, but a total contrast was in store for us. 
The column had not fairly cleared Waly when it came to 
a halt. Some machine gun companies which had bivouacked 
in the woods beside the road suddenly decided to take the road 
and in the opposite direction to ourselves. They were having an 
awful time getting straightened out. There was much 
shouting on the part of officers and men to locate units. 
The following conversation which was bellowed through the 
darkness may be recalled. Captain X up ahead: "Major 
Y, Oh, Major Y, what company has gone first?" Major Y far 
behind, "What?" Captain X "What company has gone 

40 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

first?" Major Y finally understood the question and bellowed 
"B." Captain X misunderstood the answer and questioned at 
the top of his lungs "E?" The rest of the conversation was 
drowned out by swearing on the part of Sergeant Z who was 
half-way between the disputants. At length the machine gun 
battalion and a period of time passed and we moved forward 
a few hundred yards only to halt again. This time the 
wait seemed interminable and if that was to be a criterion 
of the rate of our progress daylight would find us several 
miles from the goal. It would be hard on the colonel and 
his wrecked ambitions. He had gone ahead to the lines and 
in the morning would be waiting for the crucial moment 
when he would turn to his regiment and say "Go!" Alas, 
if the regiment were not at hand to react to that abridged 
field order! 

Meanwhile the traffic on the left of the road increased 
and its mobility decreased in inverse proportion. It con- 
sisted chiefly of motor trucks headed in both directions. Be- 
side the dark hulks of those huge trucks our carriages looked 
insignificant and the horses puny. We were forced to pull so 
far to the side in order to avoid locking wheels with our 
giant neighbors that the pieces and caissons came pre- 
cariously near to slipping oft' and burying themselves in mud 
which flanked the solid roadbed. But the horses were pre- 
vented from such a mishap by pushing against a still lesser 
part of the traffic, namely, some burrows and donkey wagons 
which had pulled off to give the artillery the right of way. 
Finally even the left side of the road had to give it up, and 
with a few worthless jerks the big trucks came to a stand- 
still. When traffic is at a standstill the usual course is 
simply to wait patiently for the head of the column to find 
its way out. Truck drivers sit quietly on their seats and let 
the motor purr gently until offered a chance to grind its 
teeth and follow again in column. Artillery drivers are 
accustomed to dismount and stamp cold feet or perhaps 
catch a nap while the horses heads droop and the column 
waits. There is something philosophical in traffic that can- 
not budge but must wait patiently through long hours for 
the spirit to move it. 

That night the congestion was different from the usual. 

41 

\ 



A History of Battery F ^2jd Field Artillery 

In the first place it was heterogeneous ; there were the 
trucks of two nations, touring cars belonging to French and 
American colonels, motorcycles of supply officers, burrows 
with engineers tools and a whole battalion of artillery, horses 
and materiel. In the second place, according to "Spike," the 
greatest barrage of the war would commence in two hours ; 
trucks had to get through with ammunition and artillery 
must move ahead. The worst feature was that the trucks 
and motor cars had nosed their way into our column which 
was to have been kept closed up at all costs. Probably at 
that moment battery "D" was many kilometers ahead leav- 
ing the rest of us not only engulfed and stalled but without 
a guide. It was just a dovetailed jam and the ability of 
the head of the column to move freely oflfered no solution. 
Each officer exerted the most strenuous efforts to disentangle 
that part of the congestion in which he found himself. He 
gave orders in French, swore in English, coined new words, 
insulted colonels and worked up a big perspiration. Gradually 
the French trucks were shuffled so as to rescue a few yards 
of road for one carriage at a time "Allez ! a gauche, restez — 
vous," — a voice from the driver's seat replied "What in Hell 
do you want?" We "carried on" that way for about an 
hour, fighting the battle for freedom. When at length the 
knot was untied traffic disappeared in a remarkable manner. 
It melted completely away and for the rest of the night we 
had the road practically to ourselves. 

Before we reached Froidos an officer from regimental 
headquarters rode back along the line and imparted the in- 
formation that our road had been under heavy shell fire 
only a few hours before. W'e thought what exceedingly 
hard luck it would be after so much training for the battery 
to be shot-up before it had fired a gun. A cannoneer was 
appointed to go to the head of each off horse in case of trouble. 
The march continued undisturbed through Froidos to 
Anzeville. The country was rolling and we seemed to be 
elevated above the battle line which was momentarily grow- 
ing nearer. As we got deeper into the salient the flashes of 
the guns flared up on three sides of us. They were still too 
far away to be heard except during a halt, when the deep 

42 



A History of Battery F S^jd Field Artillery 

intermittent sounds of explosions reached us distinctly. 
Every now and then a star rocket would shoot up and then 
float slowly away casting a weird light on our column; the 
luster in its immediate vicinity must have been intense. An- 
other rocket which attracted our attention consisted of three 
stars continually shot into the air in rapid succession fol- 
lowed by three more. That signal went up from the same 
point in the horizon at regular five minute intervals throughout 
the night. We wondered why it did not invite an enemy 
shell on a point the location of which was so repeatedly 
betrayed. 

In Anzeville there was a ten minute halt. A high moon 
illuminated the white and jagged ruins of a large church. 
This was the town which had been shelled during the after- 
noon, not because it was possible to inflict any more damage 
on what had long since become only a pile of stones and 
plaster, but because the Germans had left a remnant of the 
church tower on which to range when "strafing" the important 
road that ran beneath. Stopping in a spot so ill-chosen was 
the subject for considerable dry humor, exceedingly dry. 
Afterwards the delay was attributed to a short debate at 
the head of the column on the choice of roads. Clermont 
lay deeper in the valley to our left ; it was reported to be full 
of gas and the regiment had been warned to that effect. The 
question was whether we should climb a steep grade on an 
unimproved road which continued straight north, or follow a 
highway around the hill to the right. It was decided in favor 
of the direct road. After a hard pull with the cannoneers 
working at the wheels we found ourselves on a broad hilltop, 
treeless and desolate in the moonlight. The elevation com- 
manded a view of all the surrounding country, and at the 
moment we reached the top of the hill that country woke up 
and roared from every quarter. We had climbed the obstacle 
which had intervened d^uring the preceeding hours and rendered 
faint and distant the sights and sounds of battle. Moreover, 
we had gained the summit at exactly one o'clock in the morn- 
ing, the hour at which the barrage of September 26th com- 
menced. The transformation from travelers who looked on 
at a safe distance to combatants who found themselves actually 

43 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

present in the offensive was sudden and complete. A barrage, 
like Niagara Falls, cannot be described, although the parallel 
ends with that expression. Contrary to popular ideas the 
noise of a barrage is not a continuous and unbroken roar. 
It is a succession of irregular explosions emanating from the 
guns in the immediate vicinity. Sometimes these explosions 
occur together, or roll in rapid succession, this is followed by 
a few seconds of comparative silence broken only by isolated 
reports and followed by fresh burst of fire. From a distance 
the noise is more continuous when the sound of each gun 
blends itself with every other gun in one grand roar. Unless 
one is standing within a few yards of a piece there is no 
S'hock in a big gun barrage, but the roar transcends every 
sound and sense. The great vibrations are rendered less 
annoying by the law of opposing forces ; the air is torn apart 
in so many different directions at once that big vibrations are 
broken by other big vibrations and the result is a confusion 
not unpleasant. 

Indeed there was one feature of that barrage which 
approached, in a sense, pleasantness. But this feature was not 
discovered until after we had recovered from our initial 
wonder at so great a thing, and found ourselves halted and 
exposed in the brilliant flashes of the guns. One of the 
first sounds was a moan and then a noise as if somebody 
had dropped a heavy load of lumber several hundred yards 
away to the left. It was the only enemy shell we heard come 
over that night. It took some time to realize the fact that 
the show was all one-sided, which was the pleasant feature. 
Nevertheless, during that strange bombardment the element 
of suspense was always present, because we did not know 
until afterwards that what the high command had hoped to 
accomplish in a few hours had been accomplished almost 
immediately, namely, the complete smothering of the German 
artillery. 

The situations on the hilltop was hardly a grandstand 
seat from which to watch the caged lion roar without a 

44 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

thought of danger. There was food for thought in several 
of the precepts of Volume Three. "A battery seen is a 
battery lost." "Artillery is extremely vulnerable in the open 
when limbered." We were on the wrong road and should 
have kept in the valley; all the German artillery within range 
had observation on our hill. Colonel McKinlay who was 
commanding the column ordered us to turn around imme- 
diately. Although barbed wire entanglements and shell holes 
and trenches were on every hand the turn might have been 
successfully accomplished in the combined radiance of the 
moon and the barrage. At that moment Colonel Hennessy 
arrived on the scene and quickly canceled the order to turn 
around. And in the face of remonstrance on the part of the 
liaison ofificer "Spike" assumed full responsibility for pushing 
on. He ordered the caissons ahead to an ammunition dump 
(we had come that far without a single round) and the firing 
batteries to wait further instructions. The road down which 
the caissons disappeared lead straight into a spot where every 
few seconds a flame of fire darted up followed by an explo- 
sion. Some of us who waited on the hill bad serious mis- 
givings for our friends with the caissons, our ears were not 
yet accustomed to discriminate between giving and receiving. 
We did not see the caissons again for twelve hours. Conver- 
sation on the hill was scant although a few who stood close 
together attempted to bawl a few scraps of language into each 
others ears. A good many strenuous hours had passed since 
the hot supper in Waly Woods and we had inside information 
to that effect. 

At length the battalion resumed its march in the track of 
the caissons and when we descended the hill it was no 
small measure of relief to find that the road-crossing was 
not shell torn, but that two big American howitzers were in 
full blast there. We picked up the highway again and turning 
west marched for a kilometer under a cliff so steep that it 
rendered that part of the road safe from enemy fire. A full 
gauge railroad ran along on the left, and at the moment when 
the attention of the drivers was diverted a tremendous crash 

45 



A History of Battery F S2^d Field Artillery 

almost blew them out of the saddles. One might have ex- 
pected to see the horses become unmanageable but either the 
noise was too great for horse-sense to comprehend or the 
beasts w^re too terrified even to shy. Blasted wits having 
been collected we preceived six huge railroad guns arranged 
in groups of twos, one of which had fired directly over us. 
When we approached the farthest gun a man had the grace 
to shout in pure Yankee "Hurry up she's going to fire," and 
then for the first time since the drill field the command was 
given "trot — march!" 

At the first chance beyond the cliff we turned north again 
on a small one-way road, and mounted up into open country 
that bristled with howitzers. Those batteries were hidden 
in clumps of bushes or on the edge of an orchard, and some 
finding no natural concealment had set up a flimsy screen of 
camouflage which was thrown aside for the action. After 
perhaps one kilometer more signs of life, other than the great 
machinery, appeared. A number of troops gathered beside 
the road and a pile of scattered ammunition boxes marked a 
dump. It was there that we turned off the road to the right 
and started down a hill full of shell craters. The two colonels 
shouted contradictory directions to us and eventually the 
battery was parked in a field without the slightest semblance 
of order. It was after five o'clock. The din was terrific, but 
a heavy mist shut off everything except the sharp yellow 
flashes that cut it in quick succession. The flashes, however, 
were becoming less brilliant in the overwhelming daylight. Just 
back of the field on a wooded hillside was a battery of French 
"155 Longs" in full blast. There is no gun, unless it be a ten- 
inch railroad rifle, which makes a more ear splitting crack 
than a "155 Long"; but nevertheless the grove immediately 
surrounding that battery was the place designated for our 
picket line. The poor horses nearly went crazy that morning 
until they went deaf. 

A good chance was now afforded for drawing a long 
breath, and for ruminating on the amazing absence of enemy 
fire. We cast about for something to eat, and, after bellowing 
into each others ears whether it should be beans or tomatoes 
we decided on both with "willy" to boot, and when we got 

46 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

through there was nothing to eat and nothing to wash except 
hands. The sun was up and thinned the mist taking the 
chill out of it. Some of us lay down in the grass and for 
the space of an hour lost all consciousness of the fact that 
the greatest barrage in history was engaged not only in making 
the world safe for democracy but also a pitted battlefield safe 
for sleeping. 



47 



The Argonne 



"When the blast of zvar blozvs in our ears." — ■ 
King Henry V. 

FOR nine hours on the morning of September 26th the 
hills and valleys of the Argonne belched out their fire 
and hurled a frenzy of righteous indignation against the 
German strong points around Montfaucon. The overwhelming 
nature of the barrage was not fairly realized until five weeks 
later when we returned to the sector and crossed the waste 
land which had once been the proud Kriemhilde Stellung. We 
had a grandstand ticket on the 26th, a day which turned out so 
clear as to disprove the theory that a big cannonading brings 
rain. Toward noon most of the neighboring batteries became 
silent, and only a few scattered guns kept up a desultory firing 
during the rest of the day. Out in front of us was a little rise 
of ground, and a hundred meters beyond that, the higher 
wooded ridge from which the assault had been launched. We 
had no idea of what was taking place out there, the absence 
of enemy shelling was more a mystery than anything else. 
Many aeroplanes flew back and forth over our beach !)ut at a 
height too great to distinguish whether they bore a circle or 
a cross. Frequently a plane was pursued by little puft's of 
white smoke which appeared many seconds before the faint 
"pom, pom, pom" of the bursting shrapnel could be heard. 
The hell which the anti-aircraft artillery projected toward 
heaven seemed miniature and harmless in comparison to that 
on earth. Bombardments of the sky were a commonplace sight 
for us after that day ; but we seldom saw or heard of a plane 
brought down by the "archies" whose principal function was 
to keep the enemy observers flying high. Even while we 
exalted in the Allied supremacy of the air, for nresumal)ly the 
Hun planes were outnumbered, two incidents occurred which 
proved that the foe still existed. French observation balloons 
had risen, one pair of them some distance to the rear and 
another pa'ir on our left. Suddenly we looked to see only a 
curtain of black smoke where one of the rear balloons had 

48 



A History of Battery F ^2^d Field Artillery 

been and away from that smoke there floated a speck of a para- 
chute containing the pilot. At the same moment the thing 
was repeated to the left, only this time there was no sign 
of the pilot making his escape. The two balloons which sur- 
vived looked ridiculously lonely with their companions puffed 
out like candles. The act was so concerted and so swiftly done 
in a quiet blue sky that it seemed like a dream. It was later 
reported that the Huns who did the trick had slipped in by 
virtue of small high-powered machines, the wings of which 
bore the red, white and blue circle of the Allies. 

About 2 o'clock in the afternoon orders were received to 
move ahead. It was a much easier proposition to navigate 
among the craters of the field in daylight than it had been in 
the uncertain lights of the early morning. After half an hour 
the road was reached and we pulled along it for several hundred 
yards to the foot of the wooded ridge. A battalion of '75's" 
had just pulled out and abandoned for our use its hastily 
prepared position about one hundred meters from the edge of 
the Bois de Hesse. This was our first gun position. It was 
evident that no fire could be delivered from there. We were 
the only light batteries in the vicinity and moreover it was 
rumored that an advance of seven kilometers had been made 
that day, a situation which justified the boldness with which 
we had taken up the position in broad daylight. Even Colonel 
McKinlay admitted that it was a reserve position and that 
we were laid in preparation for counter attack. The battery 
detail tried to orient themselves and point the guns on "Y" 
north. To do this it was necessary to set the compass gonio- 
meter directly in front and within a few yards of a pair of 
six-inch American rifles in action. The tremendous concussion 
was very disturbing to the accuracy of the first laying, but 
fortunately we never fired from that position. 

Meanwhile a long gray line of German prisoners passed by : 
there must have been more than three hundred. The sight was 
cheery, for it was a tangible proof of what had been accom- 
plished by the great efforts we had witnessed. We regarded 
those prisoners with curiosity and looked for signs of the poor 
conditions of food and clothing which were reported to exist 
in the German army. But their appearance was hardly 

49 



A History of Battery F S^jd Field Artillery 

wretched. They were well shod with black leather boots, and 
their clothing was in good condition. Most of them had thrown 
away their heavy steel helmets and wore the familiar round 
cloth cap with a button on the front. A few had received 
wounds, but only one was carried on a stretcher by his com- 
panions. Their faces were white, which was natural consider- 
ing the hell from which these devils had been pulled, and, while 
some were expressionless, others were smiling and looked alto- 
gether satisfied with the situation. 

Late in the afternoon the caissons turned up from some- 
where and unloaded a pile of shells at each gun, after which 
they joined the limbers and horses which had taken shelter 
in a corner of the woods to the left. Telephone lines were 
stretched from our position to the battalion observation post 
(O.P.) which occupied a knoll behind us and from which 
nothing could have been observed except the close defense of 
the guns. The most profitable work was performed by the 
cannoneers, who improved the depth of the short and narrow 
trenches which were found at the position. When everything 
had been set in readiness to open fire on any target which 
might be designated in the direction of "Y" north we found 
that the first excitement of approaching the front was giving 
place to great drowsiness. All the men, except a squad at 
each gun, were sent over to the picket line in the woods. 

We made up lost sleep at double time that night, and the 
next morning felt only a vague recollection that the ground 
had been shaking periodically for some hours. Daylight and 
a consciousness of the real nature of the stunning explosions 
around us dawned pari passu. The night before the crash- 
ing of the long guns across the road had been a most satisfying 
disturbance, a sort of "give 'em hell" sensation, but those guns 
were silent now and had lowered their long noses into the 
bushes. Fifty yards to the right, the road, which passed 
back of our position, swung north and disappeared into the 
woods. It was at that turn of the road that the battery of 
heavies had been operating, and now the spot was the center 
of dispersion for the German shells that were coming over. 
The shells were of large calibre, and, judging by the low 
pitch of the whine which preceeded the arrival of each, they 

50 



A History of Battery F ^2jd Field Artillery 

were firing at extreme range. The long whine was followed by a 
swish and then a geyser of dirt, bushes, smoke and flame fol- 
lowed immediately by a sharp crash. There was a second or 
two for ducking before the hot metal fragments reached us, 
and after it was all over and we had started to listen for the 
next contribution, a few stones and sticks that had traveled high, 
came pattering down. Big shells are always a demoralizing 
experience, there is too much time to think when you hear 
them coming. Between the moan and the crash a man can 
review his past life, can speculate on how small an amount of 
deviation from the last shot would be necessary to jar the gun 
in his direction and can realize that no power on earth is 
now able to alter in the slightest degree the course of the pro- 
jectile which is at that instant — almost — kerflop CRASH!!! 
The ground a few yards off is torn to shreds, now that one is 
over with, where is the next going to land? and so it goes 
over and over again. That morning the shells kept fairly con- 
stant at the bend in the road, with now and then a "short" 
plumping down into the woods just in front of us. The guards 
on our guns stated that the show had been going on most of 
the night, although doubtless an hour of this new experience 
could prolong itself indefinitely on the feelings. Corporal Deveny 
picked up a piece of hot metal which stung his foot, and fum- 
bhng it from hand to hand, said: "If ever I get back to Beaver 
County I sure would like to have this to show the folks." 
But we guess he thought his chances were so slim that the 
splinter wasn't worth keeping. The bombardment kept up for 
nearly an hour after daylight and then suddenly ceased. None 
of the heavy guns at the bend in the road had been struck, and 
the enemy had thrown over a bunch of expensive ammunition to 
no account. 

The battalion commander turned up about 7 o'clock and 
Avithout any hint of our destination we took the road which led 
north into the Bois de Hesse, penetrating the eastern reaches of 
the Argonne forest. For the first kilometer there was no inter- 
ruption. On every hand were signs of the drive which had 
been so recently organized in those woods. A board nailed to 
a tree marked the "regulating station" where troops and vehicles 
which approached the front line trenches before the drive, had 

51 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

been inspected. There were signs announcing the "gas alert 
zone," and numerous "dressing stations." All these things were 
rendered obsolete by the magnificent successes of the last few 
hours. We turned to the right on a narrow, unimproved road, 
and thereupon progress became slow. We halted several hours 
until the head of the column could nose a way through the 
congestion at some cross roads. The fine weather overhead 
was no reflection of the mud underfoot. The halt on that nar- 
row road recalls to mind what a mire it was, because during the 
long delays there was no dry spot to sit down on. No matter 
how bright the sun it had little effect on the eternal mud that 
was churned up by heavy traffic. The road ran along the 
reverse slope of a ridge where the big trees had either been 
shot down or cut down to build dug-outs so that what was left 
was only a tangle of underbrush and saplings not at all charac- 
teristic of the straight, clean forests of peaceful France. It 
made excellent concealment for guns and the bushes on the left 
of the road were "lousy" with big artillery. On the right the 
hill fell away sharply and the road was lined with barbed wire 
as a reminder to keep in the track and not to disturb the appear- 
ance of the bushes on the hillside lest the gun positions be be- 
trayed to enemy aviators — a sample of camouflage discipline. 
The batteries represented every sort of heavy piece from six- 
inch rifles and howitzers to twelve-inch naval guns manned by 
French sailors. The numbers of French and American artil- 
lerymen were about equal, although all the infantry in the sector 
was American. 

While the secrets of the Argonne forest were thus dis- 
closing themselves it was an interesting speculation how so 
many unwieldy pieces of machinery could have been brought 
up that narrow muddy road and concealed in position without the 
knowledge of a shrewd enemy. To bring up one such gun in 
broad daylight would have been an accomplishment in itself. 

The middle of the afternoon we emerged from the eastern 
edge of the woods, picked up a hard road and swung north 
on a high barren ridge. There suddenly unfolded a panorama 
of the battle field, the most conspicuous of which was a 
commanding hill that could be seen to the north across six 
kilometers of lowlands. The white ruins of a city on the 

52 



A History of Battery F j^jd Field Artillery 

hill shone conspicuously in the rays of the setting sun. Ignorant 
of our geographical whereabouts we guessed that the town might 
be Verdun, but in reality it was our first glimpse of Montfaucon, 
which was at that moment being captured by the Americans. 
West of the town the intervening lowland ascended gradually, 
covered by the shattered remnants of the Bois de Montfaucon 
which had concealed most of the opposing German artillery. 
To the east the country rolled up into the hills which overlooked 
the Meuse River. 

Any reflections which might have been indulged in, concern- 
ing the battle that stretched out before us, were cut short 
by the voice of Colonel Hennessy. He stood in the middle of 
the road and, having taken complete charge of the traffic, 
was giving rapid orders to everybody in sight. Perchance he 
had uttered the magic "Go !" but the traffic would not go and 
it was necessary to "do something quick" in accordance with 
his policy. He was saying, "Captain, turn off here. Only the 
four guns will go ahead on this road (indicating a muddy lane). 
Give me an officer.^' The officer was instructed to allow no 
vehicle except those of the 323rd to enter that field. Our 
caissons and supply wagons were turned off but it was evident 
enough that no other vehicles in all the vicinity had the slightest 
desire to follow our example and park themselves on a bare 
hilltop in full view of all the hostile world. The guns pushed 
laboriously through mud that was rough and treacherous with 
shell holes. The lane descended along the back of the ridge 
so that the further they went the better became the defilade. 
About five hundred meters beyond our famous, or rather 
infamous, echelon we met Colonel McKinlay, who indicated the 
battalion position on the reverse slope below the right of the road. 
The location was an excellent one with good defilade, a broad 
field of fire, and dugouts which afforded maximum protection 
by virtue of the covering slope of the hill. It was a place 
which had evidently been used for several years by batteries 
of "75's", and it had only that day been quitted by an American 
battalion which had moved forward into the Bois de Mont- 
faucon. Our caissons had been left back at the echelon but 
we appropriated several piles of abandoned shrapnel and shell. 
One thing was missing which in most positions would have been 

53 



A History of Battery F s^jd Field Artillery 

highly desirable. There was not a tree or a bush on the entire 
ridge, but camouflage was easy under the principle of multiply- 
ing that which cannot be concealed. The hillside had been a 
scene of action for so long that it was mottled with dugouts, 
shell craters, and emplacements, and the overturned earth at 
our position was only a part of the general aspect. The books 
dictate that camouflage nets be spread over each piece in order 
to conceal the outline of the gun, but here the result was to 
create little green patches which were more conspicuous than 
the bare emplacements. The fact did not alter the determina- 
tion of Colonel McKinlay to "hide" his guns by spreading 
over them the flags of chicken-wire and raffia. The most strict 
camouflage discipline for escaping discovery at the hands of 
enemy aviators and subsequent destruction was maintained. The 
men were not allowed to smoke or have lights of any kind 
after dark, nor were they permitted to dry clothes in the open. 
All that in the face of an echelon where the band played, and 
which stuck up on a bare hilltop like a sore thumb, and of a 
battery of six-inch guns which was operating without a vestige 
of concealment only two hundred yards away. The battle was 
anything but practice out in front where Fritz was being kept 
so busy that he had neither time nor ammunition for troops 
in reserve. 

The country in which we found ourselves was perhaps 
as desolate as any on the Eastern Front. The remains of the 
town of Esnes lay half a kilometer further down the road, 
and beyond were the first heights of the Verdun defences 
of which our own ridge was a bloody outpost. The German 
onslaught against Verdun in 1916 had seethed around Esnes, 
just to the west of which was the famous Dead Man's Hill. 
A French officer pointed the place out to us and repeated the 
consecrated expression "On ne passe pas." The ground about 
was so pitted with shell holes that there was scarcely a square 
foot unscarred by the blast of high-explosive. The shell holes 
were for the most part nearly two years old, but their sides 
were still lined with upturned gravel in defiance of nature's 
attempts to cover her disfigurement with grass. When the 
farmers return to cultivate those hillsides they will find no 
lack of barbed wire for their fences. Indeed, it will be a 

54 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

marvel if they ever reclaim the ground from under the fearful 
tangles. In front of our position there were two parallel 
barriers of wire which ran the length of the ridge and which 
had been built with great care. Each barrier was about thirty 
feet wide of heavy wire with long barbs placed so close that it 
could not be handled. The tangle stood about three feet high 
and was supported by hundreds of iron and wooden stakes. 
The distance between the two entanglements was sufficient 
to prevent a bursting shell from tearing the wire in more than 
one barrier at a time. A little valley behind us was fortified 
in the same way as far as the eye could see. 

The position was held by us for six days against all 
attempts to dislodge us. The attempts were those of our own 
command who would gladly have moved any artillery forward 
that could get through the congestion on the roads. It has 
lately been reported that the position which should have been 
occupied at that time was north instead of west of Esnes, but 
the blockade on the roads made it necessary for Colonel Hen- 
nessy to put us where he did. Our light guns were out of 
range with common shell and, since no semisteel was available, 
not a shot was fired by the regiment on the west side of the 
Meuse. Everybody was anxious to perform some service to 
justify our presence on the scene of action and an opportunity 
was afiforded to carry ammunition to the batteries which were 
engaged in the Bois de Montfaucon to the northwest. Every 
morning before daylight we could hear the barrages which 
sounded as though somebody had set off a bunch of giant 
fire-crackers. Every night therefore an expedition of caissons 
was sent out from the regiment in order to get as many 
precious rounds as possible through to the guns which could 
use them. The expeditions were usually away for twenty-four 
hours, and required the greatest exertions on the part of the 
men and horses. On the second night of our stay the caissons 
of battery "F" struggled through in care of Lieutenant Breese, 
Sergeant Crawford, and Sergeant Riggs. On their return they 
reported that the assistance had arrived in the nick of time, 
and that our ammunitioti had been put to immediate use. Re- 
ports were current that the Infantry which had swept over 
the intervening lowland and captured Montfaucon so rapidly 

55 



A History of Battery F jj^d Field Artillery 

were hard pressed by lack of artillery support. But whatever 
the difficulties which were experienced it was evident that the 
Germans were kept so busy that they did not have time to 
molest the long helpless lines of traffic which stretched from 
Esnes to the battle line. Hostile artillery was not silent. 
Every day w^e could see the white puffs of shrapnel bursting 
over the ruins of Montfaucon, and could hear the dull plunk, 
plunk of big s'hells which were constantly landing in the woods 
around the base of the prominence. On the nights of October 
1st and 2nd the enemy threw a few "G. I. cans" further back, 
but by that time the opportunity had passed for wrecking the 
traffic, and the shells had no more effect than to upheave a 
few fresh craters on the forward slope of our ridge. 

When the guns had been put in their emplacements we 
had time to consider the food problem. There had been no 
issue of rations to the regiment since we entrained for the 
front, and nothing to indicate that the subject was being given 
a thought. The truth was that our supply company was lost 
in the Argonne Woods and Colonel Hennessy could not find it. 
To feast on the fruits of victory is a grand thing, but unsub- 
stantial when the canned "willy" is gone. Having had no 
refreshment during the all day march through the Bois de Hesse 
it was decided to pool what still remained of the reserve rations 
and to make a final and equal distribution for immediate con- 
sumption. That decision eliminated all envy of another's lot. 
The following morning Colonel Hennessy solved the predica- 
ment in true "Spike" style. A runner from regimental head- 
quarters brought an order which summoned a detail from the 
battery to reT)ort to the echelon on the run. The colonel was 
engaged in conversation with an infantry major, and beside 
them was a ration dump which contained "bokoo" fresh beef, 
canned vegetables, a large pile of bread loaves, and forage for 
the horses into the bargain. 

A colonel who had the foresight and a supply company 
wdiich had the ability to collect such provisions in that place 
certainly deserved to have their names blest. But charitable 
thoughts were prevented from starting at home by the intelli- 
gence that the rations belonged to an infantry regiment on 
the firing line. However "Spike" had determined to help him- 

56 



A History of Battery F S2^d Field Artillery 

self. Any fears which the infantry major entertained concerning 
his rations were dispelled by the assurances of our colonel that 
everything taken would be replaced, and moreover that the food 
would spoil before it could ever reach the "doughboys." But 
whatever the intention, no return was ever made. The meat 
did not spoil. A detail of harpies from each organization was 
on hand and the distribution which ensuea was completely 
satisfactory from a mess-sergeant's viewpoint. One of the 
articles of booty was a barrel which stood by itself and had 
not attracted much attention. Colonel Hennessy said: "There 
is a barrel of watermelons — GO !" Restraint in the presence 
of the colonel was thrown aside at such an invitation, and in 
the scramble which ensued the barrel was demolished and some 
of the eggplant which it contained was secured in good con- 
dition. 

An incident of an altogether different nature marked the 
foraging expedition. Just to the left of Montfaucon there was 
an observation balloon which attracted our attention on account 
of the boldness of its forward position. Suddenly two little 
parachutes left the basket and floated away, for a few seconds 
it was a mystery why the balloon had been abandoned, it hung 
there as lazy and natural as ever. Then without warning the 
giant bag became a mass of flames and crashed to the ground 
leaving only the black column of smoke. Although this was 
the third balloon whose destruction we had witnessed there 
was no doubt that the Allies held the air supremacy in that 
sector. No balloons were ever visible behind the enemy's lines. 
On a fair day Allied planes could be seen in all directions, and 
the appearance of a "boche" Avas always heralded by machine 
guns which rattled over the whole landscape from Montfaucon 
to the Bois de Hesse. Several thrilling fights were staged 
right over our heads, but the swift machines darted about at so 
great a height that it was impossible to distinguish friend from 
foe. The evening before we left the position a Hun plane flew 
low over our heads, it was pursued by two French machines 
which poured a stream of lead all around the luckless Boche. 
The course of each bullet could easily be followed by the 
bright light which the tracer ammunition emitted. Fritz ducked 

57 



A History of Battery F J^jd Field Artillery 

and swerved, and although outnumbered, he showed consider- 
able pluck and ability so that the battle disappeared over the 
hill behind us before any fatal decision. 

The appearance of the ground around our gun position 
with its myriad shell holes and barbed wire entanglements 
gave an impression so desolate that we had a feeling of being 
alone in the vicinity. This impression was speedily dispelled by 
a ten minute walk to Esnes. The town was so completely 
demolished that it could ^hardly be called a ruin. Stone and 
plaster lay in heaps that had lost all outline of the houses that 
they had once been; only here and there a jagged corner or a 
door-sill remained standing, while the church was marked by 
only a corner of its tower with a remnant of roof clinging to 
it. A number of big guns had taken up positions in the erst- 
while parlors and shops. They were painted a dusty gray to 
conform with the color of the debris, and that was accom- 
plished so successfully that one was startled to discover a gun. 
The main road which ran through Esnes was a spectacle. 
French and American three-ton trucks and ammunition quads 
occupied most of the road, with "flivvers," caterpillar tractors, 
and smoothly running ambulances sandwiched in between. 
Whenever the traffic halted men on foot and mounted officers 
appeared unexpectedly from its midst and continued their way 
along the sides of the road. Just above the town there w^as 
an important four corners which acted as a sort of safety valve 
for the relief of congestion out in front and at which the traffic 
that came from three directions was controlled. A captain 
was usually on duty there as traffic cop and his favorite occu- 
pation was to steer the heterogeneous stream around a huge 
ten-inch gun which had turned too sharply and become stalled, 
forming an effective and seemingly permanent dam. 

But there was little opportunity for being away from the 
guns. An hour after arrival the position was organized for 
defense. Telephone communication was installed which con- 
nected each of the batteries and battalion headquarters through 
a central with a line run beyond the echelon into a hollow in 
the edge of the woods where regimental headquarters were 
located. A barrage was figured from battle maps on a scale 
of one to twenty-thousand, and the guns layed accordingly. 

58 



A History of Battery F 32^6 Field Artillery 

It is an invariable rule that batteries layed on a barrage shall 
mount a guard on each piece day and night. It is such sentinel's 
duty to fire his gun instantly if he receives the command 
"barrage!" That guard duty was no hardship at Esnes since 
the gun squad had little else to do ; but if a guard had taken 
it upon himself to lire his gun not even our own infantry would 
have been hit — they were too far ahead. On the second night 
a curious thing happened which showed how disorganized com- 
munications had become by the rapid advances of our men. 
From the valley out in front came a hue and cry "artillery is 
firing short!" It was relayed from the vicinity of Montfaucon 
and caught up by every man who heard it, resounding from 
near and far. A good deal of cannonading had been going 
on from the heavies in the Bois de Hesse and the cry was 
evidently meant for their ears. We strained lung power col- 
lectively and individually in attempts to pass back the word. 
Sergeant Nord got out a flashlight and projected it by the 
Morse code. But Whether the improvised communication was 
effective or the big guns ceased firing in their natural course 
will never be known. 

Compared to the strenuous nights which followed, these 
were exceedingly restful but they were not without disturbance 
which chiefly took the form of gas-alarms. Most everybody 
has a healthy respect for gas, and we had come to the front 
with a solemn resolve to use our masks with the greatest pos- 
sible celerity should the occasion arise. It was wise to act 
first and reason afterwards whenever the gas alarm sounded. 
The common or garden variety of alarm was a claxon horn 
operated by hand or compressed air, the improvised variety was 
an empty shell case suspended by a wire and struck with a 
monkey wrench. The latter was the kind which our sentinels 
employed vigorously on several midnight occasions in the fresh 
clear air of Esnes Hills. The commotion always originated 
on a claxon in the vicinity of Montfaucon, the alarm was caught 
up on the alert throughout the valley, and passed back as far 
as our own shell cases. The whole neighborhood resounded 
with a noise of claxon horns and beaten brass, augmented by 
the discharge of pistols which added to the general effect. 
Down in the dugouts we were mindful that gas being heavier 

59 



A History of Battery F J2^d Field Artillery 

than air seeks low levels. So after poking a neighbor in the ribs 
to make sure that he was awake, there was nothing to do but 
adjust the mask and await developments. The battalion gas 
officer then passed along the battery positions and tested the 
atmosphere by a good sniff here and there. If the coast was 
clear he would announce "You have permission to remove face 
pieces," whereupon each soldier took a local sniff and acted 
accordingly. Such a performance took place on several nights 
until it was decided that the sentinels should call the gas officer 
before repeating the alarm. 

The ec'helon also was not without its excitement. One 
night the men were startled by the clear blast of "call to 
arms." They crawled out from their various shelters. Their 
pup tents were pulled down, the blanket rolls made in the 
drenching downpour, and the batteries were formed without 
delay in order if necessary to defend the echelon. Colonel 
Hennessy had taken up sleeping quarters in a fourgon, and 
it so happened that a storm coming up suddenly drove the 
rain in upon him. The services of the command were there- 
fore most urgently required to turn the fourgon around. 
Incidentally a detail was sent to put out a fire smouldering in 
an underground dugout. 



60 



Verdun 

"Three sleepless nights I passed in sounding 
on a dim and perilous zvay." — The Borderers. 

ON THE afternoon of October third, Colonel Hennessy 
assembled the battery commanders and imparted the 
information that we were a part of "the greatest single 
movement of troops." That cryptic remark held vast possi- 
bilities, one of which was a drive on Metz. There had been 
considerable talk of an American offensive in that sector, but, 
until the colonel's remark, wa had been planning to go forward 
instead of back. It had been the official intention for us to 
abandon our guns and take over those of a battalion supporting 
the 33rd Division in the Bois de Montfaucon. Both col- 
onels of our regiment had made a reconnaissance with that 
end in view and returned with the cheerful news that the 
battalion we were about to relieve had lost its major and most 
of its personnel by direct fire from the Germans. From all 
reports it was not an enviable inheritance and one easily for- 
gotten when we got the unexpected order to move back. 

Daylight assisted in the making of rolls and getting 
the guns out of their emplacements, but it was dark by the 
time the regiment assembled at the echelon. At that time 
Major Fibich, recently assigned to the regiment, issued hi? 
first order as our new battalion commander. It was to 
stretch the picket line, pitch tents and get what rest we 
could since the powers that be had indicated that our march 
would probably be delayed until the next day. When the 
tents were pitched we proceeded to crawl between our blankets 
and accompanied the settling-down process with grunts of the 
most complete satisfaction. Such a piece of mind as is cust- 
omarily enjoyed by a bug in a rug lasted for us about three 
minutes, when the voice of some luckless orderly from bat- 
talion headquarters cried into our semi-consciousness. We would 
prepare to take the road immediately. There were no two 
ways about it. The first sergeant blew his whistle, and the 
little canvas sleeping apartments disappeared like a happy dream 

61 



A History of Battery F J2^d Field Artillery 

and were rolled up and put back on the gun carriages. In 
half an hour we stood in the field with the column formed. 
An hour more and still we stood waiting for the first bat- 
talion to move out ahead but it had taken root on the road. 
The hilltop was comparatively still with the rumbling of gun 
fire a long way oft'. Once our airplane whirred back and forth 
over our heads. The air was growing chilly and the drivers 
leaned against the leaward flank of their horses wondering 
in a dull way if that airplane would drop any bombs. At 
length we mounted, kicked the horses back into consciousness, 
and moved away in ignorance of our destination. We traveled 
back through the Bois de Hesse over an excellent road with 
many turns. To all appearances we were alone in the woods 
and for several hours progress was so rapid that it was only 
by leaving markers at the turns that we could feel sure that 
the whole battalion was following. As Colonel McKinlay 
put it, the carriages were strung out "from here to hell and 
gone." It was therefore with some measure of relief that 
we cleared the woods and found that a halt had been called. 
The carriages in rear which had been racing along by them- 
selves were able to close up on those in front. Fifteen 
minutes and the feeling of relief passed, but the "rest" had 
just begun. 

The night was clear but a sharp wind swept the exposed 
hillside where we were halted. There was nothing to do but 
stamp around briskly and make a few weak remarks about 
some searchlights that were sweeping back and forth across 
the sky toward the east. But as time passed the wind cut 
deeper and the whole column congealed into immobility. 
Some of us sat down on a pile of crushed stone by the road- 
side and although not aware of being asleep lost all con- 
sciousness immediately. This was disturbed by the sound of 
a motorcycle coming down the hill ; that stirred a vague 
sensation of a foot being in the road and a dumb wondering 
if it was possible to muster the energy to withdraw that 
foot before the motorcycle would get there and cut it off. 
More fortunate were the several men who had perched them- 
selves on the spigots of the water-cart. The horses looked 
as though they were going to drop in their traces, and let 

62 



A History of Battery F 32^6, Field Artillery 

their heads droop lower and lower. How long we waited in 
that condition is a question, it must have been several hours 
before the column moved again. Then we pressed forward by 
jerks and halts. Presently we came to a cross-roads. The 
explanation of the long delay was evident. The 322nd F. A. 
and the 323d had met at the road junction, their startings hav- 
ing been badly timed. Colonel Warfield, being senior, had the 
right of way, but after a time Spike had become impatient and 
sandwiched our batteries into the column as opportunity offered 
There are few impressions of the remainder of that night. 
The drivers and the cannoneers took turns at walking due to 
the cold. When a man had mounted his horse with great effort 
he saw nothing, except the horse's head bobbing monotonously 
up and down, and sometimes the drivers fell asleep in their 
saddles. In Recicourt we turned east and followed a fine 
national road through Blercourt where daylight was turning 
the night mist to gray. No matter how weary a person may 
be during the night, daylight usually revives the spirits. We 
were passing through a long valley flanked by steep ridges. The 
air resounded with an early morning barrage from heavy guns 
located along the ridge on our left. It was the most western of 
the great Verdun forts in action. At a point where the valley 
widened a fork of the road swung back toward the south. 
There were two big signs, one marked "VERDUN" with an 
arrow straight ahead, and the other "BAR-LE-DUC." Under 
the arrow of the latter we swung sharply to the right and 
thought that the die was cast for the Metz front. The 
theory, however, was permanently banished when, after one 
kilometer, we turned to the left up a long grade into Gallieni 
woods. The name recalls a picture of the most trying "rest 
camp" and stickiest mud hole in France. 

For four years those extensive woods in the middle of 
the active Verdun salient had sheltered rest billets and 
echelons for the P'rench army. The shacks were rife with 
"galloping dandruff" and the stables full of filth. Outside 
under the trees the ground was torn up into treacherous bogs 
of mud. Into these woods whose dreary appearance was any- 
thing but cheerful we pulled laboriously about ten o'clock 
in the morning. The horses had been in draft during four- 

63 



A History of Battery F s^3d Pi^ld Artillery 

teen continuous hours without water or eats, and if they could 
have spoken their minds would probably have said to the 
cannoneers "you and me both." After tending to the needs 
of the horses the battery was soon sprawled out around the 
bases of the trees where the ground was firm over the roots 
and less muddy. 

Our ideas of Gallieni Woods would be very different if 
we remembered it by the several hours of undisturbed sleep 
which were enjoyed while the sun was shining at high noon. 
But the "rest camp" had just the opposite experience in 
store for us. Everybody aroused themselves early in the 
afternoon and steered a determined course toward the rolling 
kitchen where beef, tomatoes, and coffee had put in a happy 
appearance. 

The difficulties which would be met if it became neces- 
sary to harness and pull out of the mud in the dark were 
evident enough, and so the captain proposed to get all ready 
while the daylight lasted. Rolls w^ere made and strapped 
on the carriages ; the horses were harnessed and the whole 
battery turned around with the leading carriage on the edge 
of the road. If "Spike" had only come along then and said 
"Go!" we would have gone. There was no hint of what to 
expect, and so we waited. An hour after darkness had come 
on the command was ordered to unhitch and turn in for the 
night. That wasn't bad news, it was easy to change our 
intentions from a hike to a rest. Battalion headquarters were 
perplexed and admitted that orders to move might still come. 
A fine drenching rain had set in and the night was pitch black. 
The men inserted themselves between the blankets with a 
few gay remarks wdiich implied "Now let them try to rout 
us out." 

That challenge was answered immediately. A voice was 
heard from the direction of Battery "D" calling for all bat- 
teries to prepare to move. The colonel had returned in an 
impatient mood, and, although the night was already half 
spent, he was ordered to put his regiment into a firing posi- 
tion before daylight. A trying struggle ensued. Practically 
everybody was sick and some men had been carried in the 
fourgons on the night before ; the battalion surgeon was busy 

64 



A History of Battery F S2jd Field Artillery 

dolling out quantities of camphor and opium. A mitigating 
feature of the situation was that the firing batteries alone were 
called for which meant only the guns with a caisson for each 
and one fourgon with the orienting instruments. Extra can- 
noneers and drivers who were not called upon to tear up 
their tents helped get the firing battery ready. Under the 
circumstances morale was at a low ebb, but everybody 
turned out and did his share of the black work. Time passed 
until by the combined senses of hearing, feeling, and swearing 
the battery was made ready and the drivers of the leading 
carriage roused their horses into action. The gun lurched 
forward a few feet, then plunged down over the axles in 
mud where it stopped so utterly as if to say "You may all go 
off and leave me I refuse to stir again." Nobody thought of 
aeroplanes then, everybody thought of a light ; that gun must 
be forced out and on. Somebody produced a flashlight and 
with its help four more horses were added to the six 
already on the gun. The cannoneers wallowed in the mud 
braced themselves at the wheels, and turned the trick. When 
the column at length found itself on the road we felt as 
though we had done some of the hardest fighting of the war. 
It was a kind of fighting seldom considered except by the 
men who have been in it, no shells had screamed into the 
woods, but the most trying of all. 

The route was the same by which we had entered, but 
we were not ''out of the woods" until the main road was 
reached. Several horses in the battery preferred to lie down 
and die and the slippery condition of the wet clay road as- 
sisted them in that decision. Every time a horse went down 
the whole column behind had to come to a halt while the 
carriages in front slid off into the darkness and disappeared, 
but neither traces nor legs of drivers were broken, so that 
such delays were only a matter of a few minutes. On the 
Bar-Ie-Duc road we turned to the right toward Verdun. A 
French truck train was plunging albng at great speed so that 
it was a miracle that none of our gun wheels were clipped 
off, as each truck driver seemed determined to contribute 
his share in trimming the artillery, and when that didn't suc- 
ceed they jammed themselves into a blockade that stopped 

65 



A History of Battery F 32jd Field Artillery 

everything for a while. When traffic finally got started again 
it moved at the rate of two hours per mile, but neither the 
night or its difficulties could last forever. The fetters fell 
away during the last hour of darkness and we had a clear 
level road leading straight into Verdun. The approach of 
dawn brought the usual heavy mist, we could see little of the 
surrounding country, but it was evident that our march lay 
through a deep and narrow valley. The highway was flanked 
by rows or tall trees, and parallel to it ran a double-track 
railroad ; it was the main approach to Verdun from the west. 
Some huge howitzers and their tractors were drawn up beside 
the road, but our column was the only sign of life. The forts 
on the surrounding ridges were silent, and the impressions 
which the early morning mist afforded were those of an 
approach to a peaceful city. Although no railroad trains 
passed, the railroad was in operation, protected by the covering 
crests, and its red and green lights were a cheerful and an 
unusual sight. 

It was indeed true that we were too far from our posi- 
tions on the battle line to be able to reach them before broad 
dayligiht should catch us on the road. The absolute secrecy 
of American troop movements in that sector was imperative. 
We crossed the railroad, and found ourselves on a city pave- 
ment under some fine overspreading trees of a little park 
which bordered an exceedingly wide deep moat. Crossing 
the moat by a stone bridge we passed through a gate in the 
great wall of the city, and came to a halt in another little 
park just inside the gate, and like the American who visited 
Paris exclamied "So this is Verdun!" The teams were un- 
hitched, and sent back over tlie long straight road to our 
echelon in Gallieni Woods. Great pains were then taken to 
push the carriages among the park bushes and under the 
thickest trees. The place had one attraction which surpassed 
all others, it oft'ered a prospect for breakfast and a much 
needed sleeo. The three ihours rest at noon on the previous 
day counted for nothing in the face of the forty-eight hours 
of exertion just ended. Most of the battery took full ad- 
vantage of its opportunities for a rest, but the instrument 
'let^il in command of Lieutenant Bradford who was acting 

66 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

battery commander was enjoined by the Colonel to go out 
immediately and make a reconnaissance of our proposed posi- 
tion. Major Fibich assembled the reconnaissance parties of 
his battalion and they filed out of the gate in a mood wihich 
was not hilarious but at least resigned to banish all thought 
both of rest and nourishment. The advance party on that 
morning followed the same route which the firing battery 
took to reach its position the following night. A fork of the 
road swung north at the grade crossing, it was possible to 
see only a few hundred yards through the mist which still 
persisted. The substantial suburb of Thierville constituted 
the northwestern outskirts of the city where the ihouses were 
built in soHd blocks with handsome facades. The town however 
was nothing but an empty skeleton of its former self. Shells 
had torn gaping holes in the walls and roofs and wrecked the 
interiors from which not one house had escaped. There was 
one group of large buildings enclosed within a high iron 
fence; it resembled a fine military barracks but the map ex- 
plained that it was a large girls' school called the Jardin- 
Fontaine. A few French poilus were straggling toward 
Verdun, and three or four mounted French officers, but the 
atmosphere of the place was lonely and deserted. The im- 
pression was exactly the one which our command desired 
to create in that sector. The front north of Verdun had 
been held by the French and for many months it had been 
inactive. Both sides, settled into what they considered im- 
pregnable positions, were content to apologize for their 
presence by the exchange of a few shells at regular hours 
each day. Now that the enemy was so busily engaged in the 
Argonne Forest it was desired to spring a surprise in the 
height on the east bank of the Meuse, the American Army 
v/as taking over the sector so quietly that even we could 
hardly realize the fact. It was in Thierville that the party 
stopped at a rolling kitchen to beg some hot coffee, so greatly 
desired and badly needed. None bad eaten for nearly twenty- 
four hours and there was no food in prospect. As the cofifee 
was being served by the good-natured cook. Colonel Hennessy 
appeared in his Dodge car. "What the hell are you doing 
here? Pour that coffee in the road and go," was the greeting 

67 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

to Major Fibich. Military discipline does not permit the retort 
courteous and the party did as it was ordered. 

Beyond Thierville the road crossed flat and open country, 
but the shell holes which covered the fields and the little 
patches of crushed stone where the road had been repaired 
showed that the vicinity was a favorite target for artillery. 
When the ruins of Charny showed up in the fog there was a 
sharp turn to the left, and a sign at the corner announced 
in French that the road was for light traffic only and all 
vehicles must proceed at intervals of fifty meters. The enemy 
was prepared to shell the road if he saw his targets, but in 
the mist it would have been easy to bring the batteries up 
in daylight without anyone being the wiser. For several miles 
the road was camouflaged by saplings, branches, and long 
grass loosely woven into a screen twenty feet high. The 
screen was torn in a number of places and corresponding to 
each tear was a newly-made shell hole in the road. It was 
easy to see through such a screen when close to it but at a 
little distance its transparency helped to blend it with the 
surrounding fields ; the idea was not to conceal the presence 
of the road, the location of which must have been accurately 
known by the enemy, but to obstruct observation of what 
took place along the road. Where the fields became marsh- 
land and the road a viaduct there was a wooden bridge over 
a little river and beyond that a similar bridge over a canal 
which was almost as large as the river itself. Such was the 
unpretentious appearance of the Meuse on which the w^ole 
world had its eyes. Beyond the canal rose the steep and 
barren ridge of the Cote-de-Talou. It was a commanding 
barrier north of Verdun, and a strong point for artil- 
lery on the line of the canal. A boat-landing on the canal 
at the foot of the ridge was a unique sight, there was 
a small group of poilus with tb.eir little round packs and 
canteens already to go away on a "permission." Presently 
a barge propelled by a gasoline engine came along filled with 
other "permissionaires" who had been picked up enroute ; the 
men who were waiting crowded in and they all started ofif on 
a vacation. The great ridge which rose out of the canal pro- 
tected the excursion boats from direct observation, but it 

68 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

did not prevent big shells from crashing into the water every 
day, several shell-craters looked very fresh and showed why 
the bridge was made of new lumber. The road ran diagonally 
up the hill behind a number of old emplacements, shacks, and 
dugouts. Somebody spotted a "cantine militaire" in one of 
the shacks, a very dirty little hole, where an old soldier served 
sugarless hot chocolate in rusty tin cans and where a piece 
of bread and butter was obtainable for a few coppers. The 
humble appointments of the restaurant did not prevent its 
being the acme of good cheer, and a "sine qua non" for the 
reconnaissance party. 

The French battalion which we were to relieve was lo- 
cated at the western end of an irregular line of emplacements 
along the upper half of the ridge, the slope was so steep that 
low-angled guns had to be placed well up in order to clear 
the crest. The dugouts in the line of the guns were small 
and only designed to shelter battery personnel from flying 
splinters but about half way down the slope to the canal the 
French had built protection from the heaviest kind of shelling. 
Long flights of steps descended thirty feet into the ground 
where narrow dugouts resembled a mine shaft. There were 
double tiers of shelves for bunks, and a hole in the wall that 
led into a room with tables, chairs, and a stove. These com- 
partments were lined with heavy timbers six to eight inches 
in diameter which supported the roofs and walls so as to 
prevent a cave-in from shocks overhead ; and to complete the 
security there were at least three exits to every dugout so 
that a single shell could not seal up the occupants by bursting 
at the top of the steps. One dugout, somewhat grander than 
the others, had a concrete entrance, which the regimental 
adjutant had labeled with a paper and pencil ''Hennessy P. C." 
That was the last time that Colonel Hennessy's name played 
an official part with our regiment, for the colonel never saw 
his headquarters on the Cote-de-Talou. He was relieved of 
command that afternoon, October 5th, and for the next four 
weeks we were under the consciencious direction of Colonel 
McKinlay. 

Fortunately for the tired limbs which the reconnaissance 
party dragged around, the work was made comparatively 

69 



A History of Battery F 32^6 Field Artillery 

simple by the courtesy of the Frenchmen. They offered maps, 
services, and information, not excepting dinner. But these 
Americans they have money, they have food, they have every- 
thing — yes, but that day they were damm hungry. "Les 
troupes" were more than generous with their boiled potatoes 
and their wine, a sour red variety which went by the name 
"Vin de cantine." One difficulty was that we were bring- 
ing up a regiment to replace a battalion, twenty-four guns 
were trying to move into twelve emplacements. In the as- 
signment of areas only one French emplacement fell to the 
lot of battery "F," and when the battery arrived at midnight 
three gun crews had to dig themselves in during the remain- 
ing hours of darkness. Half of the French guns had been 
removed the previous night and the other half were left layed 
on the defensive barrage until ours arrived, when they were 
withdrawn and all the French artillery disappeared from the 
Cote-de-Talou. When a careful inspection of the routes of 
approach had been made the reconnaissance was considered 
complete and the instrument detail settled itself for a few 
hours of "shut-eye." That was interrupted by a swish and 
a sizzle which sounded directly overhead. It brought the 
French out of their dugouts like a lot of prairie-dogs, one of 
them remarked simply "loin," and everybody looked on calmly 
while geysers of dirt were thrown up a couple of hundred 
yards to the west. They told us that it was a most usual 
occurrence, every afternoon at 4 o'clock the boche was 
in the habit of throwing over a fixed number of shells always 
in the same spot. Nobody was ever disturbed or injured, 
but everybody enjoyed an opportunity of getting out of the 
dugouts for an airing. According to custom also there was a 
shelling of the bridge at the canal at eleven o'clock every 
night. That intelligence was disquieting with the regiment 
expecting to come up at precisely that hour, but when the 
time came our guns had already gained the hill and in the 
airfxiety to get them placed it was not noticed whether or 
not the ceremony of the bridge was performed. 

October 6th was a quiet day on the Cote de Talou, and 
a good one for aerial observation. Since it was essential to 
conceal the presence of American artillery we were ordered 

70 



A History of Battery F 32^6 Field Artillery 

to keep ourselves and paraphernalia carefully under the camou- 
flaged nets. But those instructions were not long in force, 
the tactical situation demanded that we prepare for the big 
attack. The first three days were by no means idle ones, 
A battalion O. P. was established on the crest of the hill 
about three hundred yards in front of the guns ; it was 
reached by a path which started from the eastern end of the 
regiment and wound up through barbed wire and a con- 




TODE DiMETT 



fusing tangle of muddy trenches. Over such a path it took 
several trips in daylight to be able to find the way at night. 
The idea of approaching through the trenches was to avoid 
showing a head above the sky fine on which the enemy had 
direct observation. At first the O. P. was nothing but an 
especially muddy place in a trench but the battery sent out a 
daily detail of men to excavate the sides of the trench and 
cover the excavation with iron rails and plates which were 

71 



A History of Battery F 223d Field Artillery 

easily salvaged in the vicinity, the result was protection 
from the weather at least. A good view of the Gennan lines 
was had from there, but without reference to a map it would 
have been impossible to distinguish what hills were held by 
the Germans and what by the Allies. Away to the left front 
stretched the valley of the Meuse River beyond which the 
Argonne offensive was in full swing. In the distance several 
balloons could be seen and we judged them to be the same 
ones which we had seen before near Montfaucon. On the 
near side of the river the enemy held all of the opposing 
slopes, where no signs of life were visible althoug'h the lines 
of trenches and a few roads were easy to distinguish on the 
face of the bare hills. From a deep valley the ground rolled 
up higher and higher and in the background were dominating 
heights, densely wooded, which was the region of the Bois de 
Grande Montague. The strategic location of the Cote de 
Talou had made it a target for the heaviest artillery which 
the Germans had brought to the assault on Verdun, the ground 
showed every trace of that hard usage, but it is possible 
that some of the craters had been made by the guns of Fort 
Douaumont or other of the powerful forts in the rear. Inas- 
much as the Germans had stormed and taken the ridge in 
1916, and the Meuse canal at that point was described by 
the press as running with blood and choked with bodies. 

The horses and limbers which had brought the guns into 
position had been sent back to a wooded hillside between the 
Cote de Talou and Verdun. We therefore had two echelons, 
since the baggage wagons, kitchens, and extra caissons had 
been left back in Gallieni Woods. For the first day or two 
the wolf was at the door of the batteries on the hill, until 
one kitchen per battalion was brought up under cover of 
darkness and placed in a shelter along the line of deep dug- 
outs. So-called hot coffee was the principle output from that 
kitchen and the most appreciated. Corporal Moorehouse was 
reminded of a can of salmon, alias "goldfish," wbich he had 
brought with him the first day and concealed under a promi- 
nent stone, but alas, it was never found again, and is prob- 
ably to this day lying under one of the many prominent stones 
on the Cote. If fare was light conversely the work was 

72 



A History of Battery F 22^d Field Artillery 

heavy, an unfortunate combination, but as Sergeant Gib said: 
"I could carry ammunition day and night if I knew that each 
shell was going across." And we did carry ammunition day 
and night, with a lingering memory of how the caissons had 
been loaded under distressing conditions at Esnes, only to 
have the shells straightway unloaded and left in the mud. 
The French had abandoned a number of shrapnel and gas 
shells for our use, but in the drive for which we were pre- 
paring it was necessary to use common shell and semi-steel. 
This ammunition was brought up in trucks at night, but the 
trucks could not leave the road on account of the mud and 
shell holes, and therefore had to unload at the eastern limit 
of the regimental area. Then began the weary trips back and 
forth in the dark, when a rain rendered the clay path so 
slippery that it was a stunt to navigate only a few steps 
without going head over heels. The real trouble, however, 
was empty stomachs. With a hot plate of chow, the job 
could have been done in half the time. 

On the third day the distant echelon in Gallieni was 
moved up and combined with the horse line five kilometers 
to our rear. About eight o'clock in the evening written in- 
structions were surreptitiously received to the effect that the 
drive would be launched at H hour the following morning. 
The officers met Major Fibich in one of the deep dugouts 
and held a council of war which would have done justice 
to any cinema picture where candles, maps, cigar smoke, and 
a crowded room compose the scene. No conversation on 
the subject was permitted over the phones on account of the 
German listening-in service ; neither were we notified of the 
exact time for the drive until shortly before the hour which 
was quietly passed around as being 5:30 A. M. The line of 
the attack and the limits of the front on which our guns 
would operate were passed down from the infantry, and time- 
tables were turned over to the gunners, which would enable 
them to drop shells in front of our infantry increasing the 
range when the infantry advanced, and standing pat when the 
infantry rested. We had been on the front long enough to 
learn what hard work was, and to see something of bloodshed 
and destruction, but now at last we had an opportunity to 

7Z 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

put into practice the very thing for which the battery had 
come into existence. We worked all night oiling the guns 
and ammunition, and carrying up every round of additional 
ammunition which arrived on the hill, as well as quantities 
of grease and other supplies brought up from the echelon in 
all haste. At 4 o'clock the guns were checked for paral- 
lelism by means of lights no brighter than the ash on a 
cigar — the laying was accurate. At 5 o'clock the seconds 
were counted over the telephone and the watches of the 
chiefs of sections synchronized. 

The guns of the Verdun forts led of¥, their watches 
must have been five minutes ahead of ours. They were fol- 
lowed by the heavy artillery of the 324th which was below 
us and to the left ; and H hour struck when Sergeant 
Beligoy's piece boomed forth putting out the candles and 
spattering down the dirt in our little dugouts. The entire 
regiment was in full operation, and the noise and flashing 
compared to that on our first night in the Argonne. On 
every hilltop the forts roared, and down in the valley across 
the Meuse some American railroad artillery was in full 
blast; on the Cote de Talou the sharp cracking of the French 
fortress guns sounded high above the artillery of our own 
brigade. Up at the O. P. there was assembled a group of 
instrument and telephone operators and observers. It was 
still too early for observation, so the instruments were set up 
and directed on the stakes and strands of barbed wire a few 
feet in front. Swarms of shells from our own guns screamed 
close overhead, the whiz of the shell and the report of the 
gim arrived at the same time, and down in the depths of 
the trench it sounded like a shot-gun fired close at hand. 
The slow swish, swish of the heavies and the sharp hissing of 
the "seventy-fives" were easily distinguished. The doughboys 
of the 29th Division went over the top at half-past fi.ve but 
it was still too dark to observe their movements, and the time 
was only marked by momentary lull in the barrage when the 
gunners were increasing their range. Suddenly a new note 
struck into the sound of battle. It was a moan at first faint 
but increasing faster than a person can think and splashed 
over the O. P. into a crescendo explosion just behind. The 

74 



A History of Battery F ^2^d Field Artillery 

wonder was that the enemy had withheld its fire so long. 
The shells seemed to be landing among the batteries of the 
first battalion, but they were coming over only one at a time 
which made it a very one-sided duel, but withal an uncom- 
fortable one since the boche knew the exact location of the 
emplacements on the Cote de Talou while for us his guns 
were anywhere in the dim and distant hills. About six 
o'clock the observers picked up with their glasses the faint 
outline of the crest along which our shells were bursting, 
but their goose was nearly cooked when a huge shell crashed 
into the parado of the trench covering the O. P. with dirt 
and stones. When another sent up a geyser from the trenches 
a few yards to the right it looked as though the enemy had 
their bracket, and the instrument detail began to look for a 
hole in the ground. After an hour of that game the enemy 
shelling ceased altogether. 

With daylight the mist cleared away and disclosed a 
view of the entire operations. Small groups of infantry in 
squads and platoons were advancing up a steep bare slope. 
The ground was broken by craters and barbed wire, but 
the advancing parties picked their way without hesitation. 
Sometimes a number were observed running together at one 
spot which was probably the mouth of a dugout choked with 
Huns. Now and then when a shell from German light artil- 
lery exploded the puff of smoke was seen between the groups 
of men, but enemy resistance was comparatively desultory. 
The fire of our barrage was easily observed as it burst along 
the opposite crest, and the attack progressed so perfectly 
that the picture seemed almost unreal. The barrage rested 
half an hour on the crest and then stepped forward and dis- 
appeared from view. The left elements of the infantry were 
the first to gain the summit, but they were observed to fall 
back quickly, probably having run into a machine gun nest, 
or ventured too near to the protecting barrage. The ridge 
was approached from the right and enfiladed, for a few 
moments the men completely disappeared taking breath in the 
shelter of some trench and shell holes, then the squad re- 
appeared as if by magic and gaining the crest, they passed 
over it. The creeping barrage could be followed with watches 

75 



A History of Battery F 32^6 Field Artillery 

and a map until it re-appeared at greatly increased range 
just below the edge of the Avoods that crowned the high 
hills in the distance ; one more step, and nothing could be 
observed except smoke rising fro^m the trees. Then the 
gunners started on the semi-steel ammunition and the rushing 
shells changed their pitch to a high shrill whine. Our fire 
(Slowed up on account of a scarcity of shells of the long 
range variety, and in the breathing spell it was a relief to 
find that the regiment had suffered almost nothing from tlie 
counter bombardment. The enemy's range had been accurate, 
but all the shells landed between the fortress guns and our 
right battery, one man in Battery "A" was slightly wounded 
by flying stone and that was all. 

During the rest of the day long lines of prisoners filed 
back over the ridge. They bore eloquent witness not only 
to the success of the operation but to the demoralization of 
the German alliance. They were all Austrians and presented 
a sharp contrast to the Prussian captives which we had seen 
on the west bank of the Meuse. Clad in rags and under- 
nourished these Austrians were nothing but filthy, emaciated, 
and ignorant creaters from whom all ambition had long since 
fled. The fact that the German command was content to 
leave the defense of that sector to such troops showed how 
complete was the surprise with which the operation had been 
launched. The strategic importance of the movement was 
not so much to gain control of the almost impregnable hills 
north of Verdun but to cause the Germans to withdraw 
troops from the west for the defense of these hills so vital 
to their cause. Developments of the month which followed 
accomplished this purpose with unmitigated success. 



70 



Brabant Sur Meuse 

"Feats of Broil and Battle." — Othello. 

OCTOBER 8th was a red letter day for the 323rd. It 
had launched the barrage of its first enterprise in such a 
manner that the 29th Division achieved all its objec- 
tives. The infantry commanders bestowed no end of praise 
on the accuracy and aflrects of our barrage. But the work 
had onlv commenced. 




F"-^!i'r Novak Iiia'v; M.r:;ll:san Caldwell 

Brabant Hill 

The regiment was informed that it could expect to 
move forward immediately, but that order was amended so 
that the first battalion went forward on the afternoon of 
the eighth and the second battalion one day later. We 
therefore set to work to clean guns and assemble ammuni- 
tion. The prospect was good for a quiet night, and the 
making up of lost sleep was an even more attractive thought 

77 



A History of Battery F 32jd Field Artillery 

than a square meal. The battery was layed on the line of 
a defensive barrage which covered not only our own sector 
but that of the first battalion as well. Then, everybody realized 
their ambition for sleep except a detail of telephone men 
and observers who were sent out from each battery to the 
O. P. to be on the lookout for signal rockets calling for the 
defensive barrage. There were too many observers out there 
to be accommodated in the O. P., and the men swarmed and 
swore in the trench and on the parapet. Fifty yards away 
the heavy artillery had established an O, P. for a similar 
purpose. It was manned by one corporal and two privates 
who took turns staying awake, but misery loves company 
and our B. C. detail had plenty of both. The early part of 
the night was clear and it was possible to use the Great 
Dipper for a pointer to determine our sector on the dark 
outlines of the hills. By far the greatest trouble was in 
staying awake during the vigil, the coldness of the night 
seemed to numb rather than stimulate the senses. Before 
midnight the damp cold became so penetrating that action 
was necessary. The opening at the front of the O. P. was 
filled with dirt and a shelter-half ; then, some timbers from 
the trenches and a few loose stakes from the barbed wire 
out in front were chopped up as fuel for a fire. Six men at a 
time could crowd in around the fire, and three of those had 
to be telephone operators on the lines to the three batteries 
of the battalion, the rest of the men took turns upon the roof. 
A cramped position by the fire did not prevent dozing, the 
detail could have gone to sleep standing on their heads. It 
made no difference to the men on guard that a heavy mist 
shut ofif any chance of observation, the effort to keep awake 
was none the less painful. A very amusing game was in- 
vented that night. It consisted in waiting ten minutes before 
glancing at a watch, then, after twenty minutes had surely 
passed and some more for good measure, to look at the time 
and find it was eight minutes later! That was no fun at all, 
it takes two to play a game. By seven o'clock it was day- 
light and the outpost was recalled. 

During the morning we were notified to be ready to 
move at four o'clock in the afternoon. The preparation to 
move would consume at least ten minutes for the making 

78 



A History of Battery F j^jd Field Artillery 

of rolls, but the regimental commander in view of such a 
vast amount of work ordered the kitchen to close and serve 
no hot coffee or "goldfish." Most kitchens which have the 
nerve to serve coffee and "goldfish" such as that one did, 
ought to be ordered to close, but under the circumstances 
there could have been no worse way to prepare for the 
march. Perhaps the order was obeyed in spirit but evaded 
in practice because no man was seen to go without his noon- 
day meal. 

When Battery "D" started to pull out to the road which 
led forward over the Cote de Talou it was seen that real 
trouble was in store. A rain had rendered the hillside soft 
and so muddy that the horses were helpless, but fortunately 
it was still daylight or the shell craters would have finished 
the business. By hitching ten horses to a carriage at one 
time we reached the road after four hours' of work. 

Just at sunset on a clear quiet evening we came to a halt 
on the forward slope of the Cote de Talou, and looked 
overhead to see one of the grandest and most fantastic 
spectacles of the war. There had been a number of air- 
planes back and forth over our heads, but the majority 
wore the Hun cross which was the center of an uninterrupted 
group of shrapnel pufts. There was nothing unusual in that 
and we only followed their courses casually while leaning up 
against a caisson wheel waiting for the column to move. 
Then for a time the sky was almost deserted, it was the 
lull before the storm. Up from the south there came a flock 
of planes in a V shaped formation headed north. We 
noticed the perfect alignment which was kept by the twenty 
planes in the group. Then there appeared behind them, to 
the right, and to the left other similar formations; they 
sprang unexpectedly into sight on all sides, as if our eyes 
had just been opened to the mysterious things which the sky 
held. Over our heads the airplanes dotted the sky at various 
altitudes, and they came up from the west in black swarms 
against the red sunset. Some of the battery mathemati- 
cians started in to count the number of planes seen in the 
air at one time, but after counting two hundred and fifty 
there was no place to start and no place to stop. One plane, 
faster and smaller than the others, darted around by itself, 

79 



A History of Battery F J^jrf Field Artillery 

and acted as guide for the multitude. The German "archies" 
set up a fierce fire, their target was the sky which they could 
not miss, but we only observed two planes brought down. 
They flew over the wooded hills to the north, and out of 
the midst of those woods there mounted a column of smoke 
followed by a dull roar of a gigantic explosion. But that was 
all. The host swung around in unbroken formation and dis- 
appeared to the southwest. Whence they came, or whither 
they went is a mystery, but the majesty of the spectacle was 
as inspiring for us as it must have been dumfounding to the 
enemy. The incident was not recalled during the night 
which followed, however. 

Our column moved down hill and through a ruined town 
filthy with dead horses, which had been shelled and were 
lying along the road in a most disgusting condition. Our 
own horses were tired and some of them refused to pull 
so that it was a relief to reach the hard level road along the 
bank of the river. There was much traffic on the road and 
progress was slow with many halts ; it was merely a ques- 
tion of following the leader, who had no idea where we were 
goihg and nobody could exert the energy to care. About 
midnight we halted with the Meuse River on the left and a 
pile of debris called Brabant on the right. Turning away 
from the river in the direction of a hill which rose beyond 
Brabant to the northeast we endeavored to ascend among 
the shell holes and debris. But the place was teeming with 
doughboys, engineers, machine gun trains and rolling kitchens, 
and in the pitch blackness the battery was hopelessly blocked. 

The situation afforded an opportunity for the B. C. detail 
to ride ahead and make a reconnaissance of the hill on which 
our positions were located. Out on the hillside everything 
was deserted and desolate, it was necessary to ride in single 
column, and with Major Fibich in the lead we took up a fast 
trot over a trail torn with fresh shell holes, where it w^as a 
foregone conclusion that the horses would speedily tumble 
and break their legs. It being impossible to see the pitfalls 
and guide the horses the only thing to do was to give them 
their heads and confine our efforts to staying awake and on 
their backs so long as they remained upright. Once there 

80 



A History of Battery F 3^sd Field Artillery 

was a sudden stop when the horses in the rear bunched up 
on to those in front before they could check their automatic 
trotting. The reason proved to be a barbed wire entangle- 
ment which stretched across the path and off into the dark- 
ness on each side. 

After a little investigation a loose section was found 
which could be pushed aside enough to allow the horses to 
pass. Just beyond the barbed-wire a body lay across the 
road, it was that of an infantry lieutenant who had been hit 
squarely in the forehead by a machine gun bullet and lay 
where he fell. The top of the hill was desolate and barren, 
and only one bent sappling stood out against the sky. The 
silence was ominous. No artillery action could be heard ex- 
cept at some distant part of the battlefield, and the only 
sound was an intermittent sputter from machine guns a few 
hundred yards away which increased the feeling of the 
enemy's proximity. Below and a little distance to the north 
the dim shadow of a woods was just discernible. Major 
Fibich was anything but content with the area within which 
he must locate his batteries. It was on the forward slope of 
the hill, in full view of all the battlefield, and the prospect 
for enduring in action on such an exposed spot was about 
five minutes. At least there was a clear field of fire for 
the shells which the "doughboys" sorely needed. The only 
shelter which the place afforded was part of the German 
trench system which ran parallel to the road ; but to make 
that accommodate the guns would require considerable re- 
modeling, and the alternative was to place them in the 
open. It was therefore decided to put the guns into posi- 
tion along the road with a line of fire directly north into the 
woods. The German trenches were part of the powerful 
Hunding Stellung, and at least three lines beyond those trenches 
which we had seen from the Cote de Talou. The dugouts were 
numerous and so deep that although their entrances faced the 
wrong way, they afforded good protection. The reconnaissance 
party investigated the capacity of the dugouts with some trepi- 
dation, since there was no telling what desperate Boche might 
not be cornered in the filthy depths. 

The biggest problem of the entire night was still un- 

81 



A History of Battery F S^^d Field Artillery 

solved. It was three o'clock in the morning and not a gun 
had put in an appearance on the hillside. The strength of 
men and horses was practically exhausted when they stood 
in the blockade in Brabant; but to get the three batteries dis- 
entangled and into position before there was any chance for 
rest a new standard of endurance had to be set. The can- 
noneers were equipped with picks and shovels and sent 
ahead to clear the barbed-wire and fill in shell-holes, and 
to stand as markers to warn the drivers to keep clear when 
the holes were too deep to be mended. One at a time the 
carriages pushed and strained a way through the conges- 
tion in Brabant only to find the horses refusing to work on 
the hill. When one gun of the battery ahead fell into a hole 
the horses preferred to die rather than stay in the army, so 
the gun had to be lifted out by hand before anything could 
budge an inch. It was a long kilometer to the position on 
the hill, but by relaying eight or ten horses to a carriage 
somehow or other the deed was done, and the last limber 
of Battery F rattled back down the hill to the echelon by the 
river just as broad daylight came on. We knew there was 
to be an attack in the morning but daylight found us still 
without information from the infantry so we crowded to- 
gether in the dugouts and abris with the intention of relaxing 
and opening a can of "Willy." Suddenly a stinging chemical 
odor penetrated from the outside world — GAS ! It was a 
gloomy way to start operations in our new position when 
all conversation, eating and sleeping was smothered under 
the masks so we just sat in silence and glared at each other 
through the glass eye pieces. At last when we came out 
into the clear air we were able to correct the imperfect im- 
pression of the surrounding country gained during the night's 
work on the hill. Our guns faced north and covered a 
heavily wooded ridge that rose out of a hollow about five 
hundred yards in front. The woods extended east and 
north into higher ground, where was the famous Bois de 
Grande Montagne. The trees stopped abruptly on the left 
front and the rest of the ground in that direction was bare 
and shell torn like our own hill. It rolled down into the 
Meuse valley where the course of the river could be followed 
with the eye for several miles as it twisted its way among 

82 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

the hills to the north. A few shattered walls and the 
remnant of a church marked the site of Consenvoye-sur- 
Meuse. To the east and south all view was shut ofif by the 
bulk of the hill on which we found ourselves. The road 
which ran through the position followed the contour of the 
ground and bending north it disappeared into the woods 
toward Molleville Farm to the northeast. 

Early on that first morning the infantry of the 29th 
Division launched an attack to drive the Germans out of 
the woods just in front of us and over the ridge. We made 
a rough adjustment of fire against the ridge by direct obser- 
vation of bursts, where the bursting shells were visible to 
the cannoneers. It was the nearest we ever got to open 
warfare methods. Fortunately for our health on that first 
day the Boche was hustled so that he had little artillery in 
position against our exposed hillside and it was not until 
a week later that his guns became dangerously active but 
then the chance for direct observation had passed. 

It is hard to punctuate the three weeks of time which we 
spent on Brabant hill. The days were full of events pertain- 
ing to a lively sector, but they left practically no impression 
of time on our minds which were deadened by irregular 
hours and hard work. The last sleep worthy of the name 
dated back five days to the Cote-de-Talou, so that our condi- 
tion closely resembled that of the proverbial bump on a log. 
Down in the woods the fighting was desperate. The enemy 
at first held two wooded ridges behind which was the Grand 
Montagne, higher than the rest and dominating the country 
for miles on both sides; it was there that the Germans pro- 
posed to fall back if the mad Yankees should take the vicious 
machine-gun nests which were thickly planted in that rough 
and tangled country. For two weeks our guns prepared 
and supported the attack of the 29th and 33rd Divisions operat- 
ing in the Bois de Grande Montagne to the north and in 
Bois de Estraye to the east. A rectangular field containing 
the orchard and farm buildings of Molleville Farm was the 
only break in the woods. The southeast corner of the place 
was easily identified both on the terrain and on the map so 
that it was there that we adjusted fire, and, even after our 

83 



A History of Battery F 32 jd Field Artillery 

troops had gained possession of the farm, which they did on 
the third day, we continued to use it as a hase point, and 
fire was directed on every part of the sector by measurements 
made east and west of Molleville. 

Enemy lire came upon us from an unexpected quarter, 
showing that we were on the forward edge of a sahent. While 
our lire was directed into the woods toward the north the 
hostile shells came screaming over Brabant Kill from the east. 
The enfilade fire was unpleasant especially since many of the 
shells were of small calibre and we could easily hear the 
reports of the guns that sent them. But for many days the 
glaring disadvantages of the position seemed to render it safe. 
The Hun who had occupied the place for four years knew 
the lay of the land better than we and it never occurred 
to his sense that guns would ever be placed where ours were 
placed. They shelled the hollow just in front, an ideal 
place for artillery defilade ; they shelled the high ground 
just behind, a first-class location for observers ; they shelled 
the bend in the road one lumdred yards east where traffic 
ought to be caught in swarms ; and they shelled the little 
clump of trees half-way down the road toward Brabant, 
where was good concealment for an echelon. But in all 
that shelling of the first two weeks only a few erratics 
landed squarely among our guns. Even with balloon and air- 
plane observation, which the enemy continually maintained 
without interference from our air service, it took two weeks 
to penetrate his stubborn ideas on the rightness of things 
that what he saw along the road was not Engineers, who 
could dive quickly under cover when the shells came, but 
Yankee artillery in the open in defiance of all custom. The 
Germans had aerial observation all their own way on the 
east side of the Meuse. The great display of Allied air power 
which we had seen during the march to Brabant had completely 
vanished. Occasionally an Allied plane appeared but the tables 
were reversed in the matter of shrapnel greetings. One day 
a sudden burst of machine gun fire was heard over the bene/ 
in the road. There was nothing unusual in that, machine guns 
were continually popping at aeroplanes, and the aeroplanes used 
them not only to fight but also to signal to one another when 

84 



A History of Battery F S^jd Field Artillery 

on a scouting expedition. But this time we looked up to see 
five black-cross machines flying low as though about to 
pounce on the road which was filled with troops ; the 
situation was made clear by the "zip-zip" of bullets that stung 
the ground on every hand. The place was cleared quicker 
than it takes to say "Jack Robinson," every soldier flopped 
down into the trench along the road. The aeroplanes flew 
straight down the length of the trench and reaching its western 
limit they circled off and made the same trip all over again. By 
the grace of God, nobody was hit except a man in Battery D, 
who got a bullet in his hand. The incident aroused much 
ire, and we were in a mood to prop the guns straight upward 
and blast the pests out of the air. We expected an aftermath 
of shells accurately placed but the aviators must have been 
too busy with the sights on their machine guns to notice the 
obvious patches of green camouflage which concealed the 
battery, and they evidently took us for transient troops or 
Engineers working on the road. 

After the first few days of activity, there was a time 
of comparative quiet when the infantry rested and refilled 
their shattered ranks. We decided to take the opportunity 
to build ourselves shelters back of the guns where we could 
live in the society of our own personal cooties instead ol 
thirty feet under the ground in the filthy German holes. 
Soon the whole parapet of the trench which bordered the road 
was punctured by a line of tiny dugouts; the entrances faced 
toward the north which could not be helped under the cir- 
cumstances where all the works and even the slope of the hill 
faced the wrong way. The chance of flying splinters entering was 
reduced by making the entrance very narrow for several feet 
and then widening out the excavation just enough to accommo- 
date the men who were digging it; the whole thing was then 
roofed over with several sheets of iron supported by rails 
and covered with a few inches of dirt and branches for 
camouflage. The mansions on Beaver Avenue were scarcely 
splinter-roof but their chief advantage lay in their small 
size. Each man felt as though he occupied only a speck which 
could remain untouched even if all the area around were 
shelled. 

85 



A History of Battery F 32^6 Field Artillery 

We did not keep union hours on Brabant hill; the days 
were twenty-four hours long. There was something vicious 
in the way the telephone buzzed in our P. C. and upset things 
at any hour of the night. The day's work usually commenced 
late in the evening, when battalion headquarters called "Boon," 
the code name for Battery F, and gave us the missions for 
the next twenty-four hours. That consisted in several kinds 
of barrage: normal, contingent, reinforcing, reprisal fires, 
and an O.C.P. (offensive counter preparation). When our 
troops were pushing and being pushed in the thickets between 
us and the Grande Montague the data had to be changed 
every night. If conditions were normal, "breakfast" was 
served at 7 o'clock. The first week it was called breakfast 
only out of courtesy to that established institution, when 
one piece of bacon per man was an equal distribution of the 
ration, and it served more as an appetizer than anything else. 
There was a time when we would have relished shoe-soup ; 
but Willy, dessicated vegetables, syrup and bread turned up 
in increasing quantities. During the last week nothing inter- 
fered with fairly respectable meals except shells and gas. 
The normal business of the day consisted in keeping the guns 
going at so many rounds per minute on some prescribed area 
behind the enemy's lines, a slow fire which generally kept 
up for six or more hours at a stretch. The supplying of 
ammunition was always strenuous work, because we were 
supposed to keep a fixed number of rounds on hand at each 
gun, generally not less than a hundred rounds of shell. The 
ammunition train brought these up at night and placed them 
in a battalion dump below the left flank of Battery F, from 
where they had to be carried by hand to the guns and placed 
in small piles camouflaged with green branches. In the 
frequent event of a rolling barrage to support an early morning 
attack we were up all night bringing the ammunition to the 
battery reserve. Even then the work was never finished. In 
addition to everything else, there was a constant need for 
better protection. The gim pits had to be deepened and 
splinter-proof trenches built on each side of the trails, from 
which shelter the gunners were required to fire their pieces 
with a long lanyard when the fire was not too rapid. On 

86 



A History of Battery F 32jd Field Artillery 

the other hand in the heat of a barrage the cannoneers were 
capable of disposing in a few minutes of all the ammuni- 
tion which it had taken several nights to accumulate. 

It was at such a time that the guns roared on for hoiir 
after hour, throwing a line of shells that crept up through 
the woods in search of the deadly machine-gun nests. A gun 
which was not firing was always laid on the line of the 
defensive barrage and had a fused shell leaning against the 
breech, and a man on the alert to shove home the shell and pull 
the lanyard in the event of a signal rocket appearing above 
the trees in front. But quiet guns were the exception on 
Brabant Hill, because if there was nothing else on the slate 
we indulged in "harassing fire." That was directed on some 
crossroad or other important point behind the enemy's lines, 
where scattered volleys would be planted at irregular inter- 
vals of five or ten minutes. The efifect was contemplated to 
be demoralizing, with a burst of fire at unexpected moments. 
The favorite time for such a pastime was between midnight 
and daylight because it was then that the most traffic could be 
caught on the roads. Retaliation fire was a trump which we 
used on certain occasions with great satisfaction. The chiefs 
of sections carried in their pockets the deflections and eleva- 
tions for a couple of ammunition dumps and towns where 
troops were billeted back of the enemy's lines. When the 
Huns "strafifed" the road near the position, a burst of fire 
would be returned against the vital spot at a maximum rate, 
usually six rounds per gun per minute for three minutes. 
It was a language of the battlefield which said "very well, 
then, take that!" delivered in a dialect of poison gas which 
Fritz understood perfectly. 

During the three weeks when the battery was operating 
on Brabant Hill we sent a detail of observers and liaison men 
into the woods with the infantry : Corporal Hicks, Corporal 
Vanderlin, Hastings and Rennie have a different story to tell 
of the operations in front of the Grande Montagne. Access 
to the woods was gained most easily by avoiding the barbed 
wire and trenches in the hollow and following the road which 
swung northeast from our position. Just before entering 
the woods there was a spot where several infantry kitchens 

87 



A History of Battery F S^jd Field Artillery 

had been bold enough to push so far forward and locate near 
a spring of clear water. The Germans, who had probably 
been making a similar use of the place only a few days before, 
were mindful of it and let no day pass without shelling 
strenuously the kitchens and the road. Several horses had 
been struck and lay there horribly mangled beside a pile of 
bread, but to doughboy appetites the combination "max nix 



r 




Lieut. Br.vtiford 

aus." A hundred yards further among the trees was the P. C. 
of the 115th infantry regiment with which we maintained 
telephone connection. The Germans had built for themselves 
a little cottage not unattractive with a veranda and protected 
on one side with a huge shell-proof screen of heavy timbers 
and matting. Beside the cottage there was a preposterous 
beer garden, which was not completely built when the prop- 
erty changed hands. Since then this P. C. was a favorite 

88 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

target, and judging by the number of direct hits which had 
been registered on the cottage it was well that the colonel, 
his staff and our own operators had found shelter thirty 
feet underground in concrete dugouts. It was difficult to 
navigate through the woods where the paths were ankle deep 
with filthy black mud except where the fierce shelling had 
left parts of the German corduroy paths. The underbrush 
was not only thick but full of shell holes and pitfalls and the 
bodies of Americans and Germans lay in hopelessly equal num- 
bers. Most of those had been gathered together along the 
road where they would be buried in a long grave, but in the 
heat of battle many were overlooked. A crossroad and a nar- 
row gauge railroad divided the Bois d' Estraye from the Bois 
de Grande Montague just west of Molleville Farm. In there 
the front lines were very close; the remains of machine gun 
nests, or pests, were on every hand but there was no sympathy 
to waste on the young Germans whose corpses lay beside their 
guns where they had evidently died game when deserted -by 
their retreating comrades. One had to look lively in those 
woods even when there was the terrible suspense of silence. 
There was no warning shriek from the shells which tore 
through the underbrush every . now and then. For protec- 
tion from such an incident a strong "abri" constituted a sort 
of half-way station between the road and the front line. 
It was occupied by some stoical members of the medical 
corps who maintained a first aid station marked at the entrance 
by a couple of bloody stretchers and five or six grim bodies. 

The front line was not a line at all. It was an irregular 
series of small trenches, none of which was large enough to hold 
more than eight men, and most of them accommodated only 
two or three men. Machine guns placed at intervals formed 
the connecting links in that temporary system of defense. 
If we had relinquished the offensive and prepared to dig in for 
the winter those scattered holes would have been enlarged 
and connected, barbed wire would have been installed out in 
front of the unbroken front line fortifications which had been 
characteristic of the Avar for four years. Where the hill fell 
away more steeply there was an opening in the trees through 
which could be seen the opposing slope of the Grande Mon- 

89 



A History of Battery F S^jd Field Artillery 

tagne only a few hundred yards away. That was all enemy 
territory, and any observer who showed himself to it was 
subject to an immediate visitation. We'll have to hand it to 
the boys down in those woods. They lived in an atmosphere 
that was never pure, the underbrush caught and held the gas 
almost indefinitely. It seems possible that in the future (months 
after the last shell has loosed its poison) some curious 
tourist will go nosing around among the bushes and find his 
eyes begin to smart. 

The men at the echelon have still a different story. The 
river bottom along the Consenvoy road had been selected 
as the place for the horses. The spot was well pro- 
tected by a high bluff. German shells frequently hurtled 
over and exploded in the canal beyond, but none ever 
fell on the crowded horse lines. Unfortunately, however, 
the loss in horses at this place was very heavy. Many causes 
contributed. The horses had performed much hard work under 
very trying conditions; the forage was scarce; it was impossi- 
ble to properly care for the animals without grooming kits, 
which had been lost with all our freight from America, and 
had never been replaced. The prime cause, however, was 
the situation of the echelon. The ground upon which the 
horses stood was below the level of the Meuse canal which 
was held in by dykes. Rain and lack of drainage made the 
picket lines seas of cold mud. Horses stood in water and 
mud above the crown of the hoof and when a horse lay down 
he was chilled and stiffened ; it was often impossible to 
get him up. Pneumonia took a high toll among the weak- 
ened animals. No one who knew anything about horses was 
surprised at the heavy mortality and the battery commanders 
often considered how long we could stay in Brabant and yet 
be able to move away. It was in such conditions that the 
drivers lived and worked. Without the excitement of the 
front, they labored day and night hauling ammunition, rubbing, 
feeding, watering, grazing and burying their horses. Their 
faithfulness was not without avail, for First Sergeant Ray- 
burn who for most of the time was in charge of the Bat- 
tery "F" horse lines, was cited in brigade orders for the 
good condition of horses and materiel left in his charge. 

90 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

During the last half of our stay in Brabant changes 
were evident in the several situations. The Germans did 
not have unchallenged control of the air. There had been 
days when their aeroplanes flew back and forth unmolested 
Now the red, white and blue circle could be seen patrolling 
the sky at intervals. One fine afternoon when the planes 
were so numerous that we had ceased to notice them, somebody 
said, "look there!" We looked, to see one of the machines 
in flames and entirely out of control. Probably the aviator 
was killed at the first explosion of the gasohne tank. It was 
falling from a great height but with slow, steep spirals, until 
about two hundred feet from the ground it collapsed and 
plunged to the ground near the edge of the woods in front 
of us. We have always indulged the theory that it was a 
Hun who was the victim of that spectacle, but we never took 
an opportunity to verify that theory by an examination of 
the wreckage. 

The prisoners who came passed our guns were a testi- 
mony to the type of troops that faced us. They were 
young and well equipped. Germany had thrown in her best 
soldiers to protect this sector after the initial disaster to the 
wretched Austrians. Thus the defense was weakened on the 
west bank of the Meuse to such an extent that the American 
victory at Stenay in the first week of November was made 
possible. From our narrow viewpoint the German defense 
was tremendously stiffened. Little progress was made down 
in the woods, and few prisoners were taken. Several times 
the enemy counter-attacked and gained some local success. 
But the tide of battle was against them and during one* of 
those enemy counters they ran into their own barrage which 
was so effective that our men followed by gaining consider- 
able ground. 

Corporal Hage used to question the prisoners that came 
by our P. C. They knew more than we did about what the 
near future had in store. The Huns were sick and tired 
of the war; they spoke of revolution at home, and stated 
that the Kaiser was "persona non grata." They were unani- 
mous that the war would be over within a month. One day 

91 



A History of Battery F S^jd Field Artillery 

a doughboy came by escorting a single German captive. 
"Where did you get that, Bill?" The answer was, "Oh, he 
just got tired and walked over to us last night." 

The first battalion of the 323rd came up one night to 
share the honors on Brabant Hill. They moved past the 
positions of the second battalion and placed their guns about 
four hundred yards to the northeast where a little depression 
afforded an inviting defilade. We pitied them for the spot 
was a catch-all for shells. They got their share. It was a 
daily occurrence to watch them scampering to their dugouts. 

Once an enormous gas shell exploded on the slope out 
in front. The poisonous fumes were emitted in a heavy yel- 
low-green cloud that tumbled about at first in all directions 
and then collecting itself it roiled down hill. Out in front 
of that cloud a man was running at top speed. We felt like 
shouting advice to him to turn off to the right or left; but he 
kept on down ihe hill with the blight at his heels. Appar- 
ently he ran faster than fate. 

The least brutal but a highly effective weapon used in 
our sector was propaganda. Toward the close the Allies 
indulged more in propaganda on the front lines than did 
our enemies who initiated it. They were beaten at their own 
game. 

Allied planes were never so commonplace over the Brabant 
sector but that we usually watched them with great satisfac- 
tion. One afternoon six planes flew overhead at a great 
height. They were seeking neither observations nor a fight. 
Every now and then a little puff of what looked like smoke 
issued from them, and it looked as though they would presently 
come hurtling to the ground, but the puffs did not disappear ; 
they simply became a silvery dust that floated down over the 
enemy lines. Hundreds of illustrated leaflets had been dropped 
which told the German soldiers a few pertinent facts about what 
they were up against. 

In the closing days of October we overstayed our welcome 
on Brabant Hill. It began to dawn on enemy intelligence that 
the troops which they observed so often on the exposed slope 
were not transient passers-by but a battalion of guns in position. 
They looked us over from an observation balloon beyond the 

92 



A History of Battery F J2jd Field Artillery 

woods. They scrutinized us from aeroplanes and dropped 
rockets to indicate their findings. Once a big black cross 
swooped down so low we thought he was going to make a 
landing. We could see the goggles of the aviator peering over 
his fusilage, after which aggravating stare he went his way. 

The shells arrived in bunches from the east. They doted 
on the small hours of the morning and also in the late after- 
noon. The last week it was a regular thing to be wakened up 
by a rapid succession of whizz — cracks ! It usually started 
down in Battery D and walked along the line of shelters. It 
was when they were bursting around our little shelters that we 
began figuring on the relative chances of a direct hit on our 
roof to those of the hits all around us. And then the whistle 
became longer and the cracks duller as the shells went on their 
way over Battery F and down the hill beyond. The wonder 
of the whole thing is the number of hits that were beside, 
around and between everything, and the comparatively few 
casualties that were suffered in the battalion. 

The saddest and most frightful happening of all our stay 
occurred one morning after an attack. An ambulance loaded 
with wounded came out of the woods and followed the road 
which led behind our guns. Just to the east of Battery D 
a shell tore ofl:' the rear end of the ambulance. The driver, 
stunned and desperate, opened up the throttle, and the ambu- 
lance came plunging along at a terrific speed. Back of 
Battery F a wheel came off, the wreck was complete. Three 
of the occupants had been killed outright and four others 
were so horribly mangled that they must surely have died 
within a few hours. A lieutenant who was riding on the 
front seat had suffered shell shock and was out of his head. 
It was such a fearful catastrophe to happen to those men 
who were on their way to peace and safety that those of us 
who saw it will never forget the sight. 

About October 20th, Lieutenant Colonel Hopkins was 
placed in command of the regiment, vice Colonel McKinlay 
transferred. He took charge of us under auspicious circum- 
stances. It was the day that we received a paper which told 
of President Wilson's decision to turn over the determination 
of armistice terms to Marshal Foch. But if there was some 

93 



A History of Battery F ^2^d Field Artillery 

talk of a cessation of hostilities it was confined to government 
circles. We received orders to prepare winter quarters back 
of the hill. Digging in for the winter was not a pleasant 
prospect, but it was about time to move back of the hill. 

I'he new positions were located in an extensive Boche 
trench system. Portions of a large trench were assigned to 
each battery, and substantial improvements were contemplated. 
It was intended to dig gun emplacements as c[uickly as possi- 
ble by excavating the walls of the trench. The gtms could 
then be moved, and the work of improving the dugouts and 
covering the position would follow. Considerable work was 
done on the winter quarters. W^e left just enough men at 
the guns to serve them, and the others got busy with picks 
and shovels. It was beginning to look as though we might 
move over after one more day, when the inevitable happened. 
The locations were shifted arotmd, and we had to get busy 
witli the compass gomioneter and picks and shovels all over 
again. W^e were on the west slope of the hill, down below 
us was the town of Brabant. About half way to the town 
was a little war-torn orchard in which a battery from the 
101st artillery was located. Big shells went swishing over- 
head at irregular intervals. They had a lazy sort of sound 
as they waddled through the air, but so great was the 
explosion which followed that we always watched to see 
where they would land. We had just put in a stake to mark 
No. 4 gun, which was farthest down the hill and only a 
couple of hundred yards from the other battery, when a 
swish was heard overhead, followed by a momentary pause, 
and then a crackling roar. The projectile had struck right 
on top of one of the "75's" where nothing was left except 
burning camouflage. 

There was such a rush to move into the position latest 
projected that we were ordered to push the v/ork day and 
night. Accordingly a detail was sent back during the evening 
to "carry on" in the darkness. It had no sooner set otit 
to work than the whole proceeding was called off. The 
"powers that be" liad decreed that the 158th Brigade would 
withdraw and go to a rest camp. Accordingly a battalion 
of New York artillery was moving into a depression on 

<34 



A History of Battery F j^jd Field Artillery 

the left front for the purpose of taking over our sector and 
mission. It was a delightful turn of events, but the one day 
left to us on Brabant Hill was to be the most strenuous 
of all from the point of view of enemy fire. 

Shells from "seventy-sevens" started coming over in 
the early morning, and kept it up intermittently until 11 
o'clock, when a furious burst of fire descended upon us. 
Major Fibich ordered a reprisal fire, and all the guns of the 
battalion were concentrated on "Solferino" with gas shells. 
The gas shells were kept across the road from the guns 
and it was necessary to carry them up during the fire. We 
shall always bear in memory the picture of poor Phillips, as 
he plodded back and forth between his gun and the pile of 
shells. The fact that hell was torn loose in his path seemed 
to have no effect on Phillips or cause him to turn the slightest 
from the calm pursuit of his duty. And then a shell came 
and blew out his life, and his mangled body was thrown 
fifty feet. 

When the bombardment burst upon us most furiously 
there was a transport wagon coming up the hill. The driver 
was prompted by the instinct of self preservation and aband- 
oned his team. Then the horses became crazed and dashed 
around among our guns, dragging the wagon even down in 
front of the muzzles. Finally a shell put an end to the evolu- 
tions, and two fine horses lay dead in harness. The driver has 
never been heard from to this day. 

A doughboy had stopped to rest and was sitting beside 
the road. He was probably a colonel's orderly because he had 
in his possession a colonel's dinner. We hardly noticed the 
poor fellow until his body or half of it, because there were 
no legs, lay thirty yards from the scattered provisions. A 
shell had made a direct hit, yet there in the road lay unbroken 
eggs. 

After that there was a lull in the firing which seemed 
like profound quietness. We ate our lunch of tomatoes and 
corn-willy, and wondered how we could. Some of the men 
at the colonel's luckless meal of eggs. During the afternoon 
some graves were dug beside those of the ambulance victims. 

95 



A History of Battery F J2^d Field Artillery 

As for the horses, we never did get a hole large enough to 
bury them and when we left they were just where they had 
fallen. 

Supper that evening was no social collation. We were 
interrupted so much by the gas-alarms that everybody resolved 
that they would not be thwarted. So that at each alarm the 
mess line waited patiently in their masks, and when the coast 
was clear the serving proceeded from the point where it had 
left off. That occurred three times and only those who had 
a French mask handy for just such an occasion were spared 
the unpleasant necessity of spitting out a mouthful of food 
suddenly in order to insert the mouthpiece. 

During the evening we waited rather impatiently for 
the 104th F. A. to report that their guns were laid on our 
barrage lines, and that they were supplied with ammunition. 
We could not move from the position until that condition 
existed. They requested more ammunition and we detailed 
some men to help them expedite matters. All evening high 
explosives burst in front of our guns with unremitting regu- 
larity. They seemed particularly vicious on that night. Per- 
haps it Avas because we were so near to leaving it all that it 
was especially annoying to senses which were about to relax. 
Bu*- more likely the enemy was using instantaneous fuses which 
caused a hideous scattering of the fragments. They went hiss- 
ing in every direction after the shell had exploded. It was as 
though they said, "you think the worst is over, but we'll — zip — 
get you. whee plunk, yet." 

By 2 o'clock in the evening the bombardment quieted 
down, the limbers came up f.rom their mud beside the river, 
and we quietly took the road toward Verdun. 



96 



Round Up 



''Silence is t/ie pcrfectest herald of joy. 
Much Ado. 



THE abandonment of plans for digging into winter 
quarters, and the withdrawal from Brabant Hill were 

the first events in the changed affairs of the Three 
Twenty-third Light. The war took on a new aspect from 



f :n 



<f 




BOIS DE MONTFAUCON 



that date and each circumstance of the last two weeks was 
as welcome as it was unexpected. 

The outlook of the war at large didn't change so sud- 
denly, only our knowledge of it. The perspective from Bra- 
bant Hill had been confined within the narrow limits of the 
Meuse River on the west and Molleville Farm on the east. 

97 



A History of Battery F S2^d Field Artillery 

Rumors of peace talk reached us, it is true, but they were 
never in more stable guise than rumors, and they were always 
punctuated by enemy machine guns or the whir of a Hun 
plane. When we read press reports of Allied victories in the 
north, it was by the light of bursting shells. And so the 
limits defined, only threw a red glare on our outlook. But 
once away from that sector, we began to see what the last 
war-maps have now proven to be true. That we had been 
knocking at the hinge of the Western Front, and that the 
hinge, which was the strongest part, would not break vmtil 
the great door had swung back from Brabant to the Belgian 
coast. This it did one week later when the door swung back 
so sharply that it not only wrenched loose the hinge north of 
Verdun, but tore out the bolts of Metz as well. 

About 10 o'clock in the evening, the limbers and horses 
appeared on the hill from their echelon by the river. Whereas, 
we had left training camp with 130 horses, the mud along 
the Meuse and the nightly ammunition orgies had decimated 
the animals so that there were only about 70 remaining. 
And for that reason a caisson and a fourgon had to be aban- 
doned. It was no secret this time that our destination was 
the Bois de Vilie, back of Verdun, which is better identified 
as being just across the road from the nightmare headquar- 
ters in Gallieni. After a night so dull that it hurt, when the 
brigade unintelligently marched again behind the slowly mov- 
ing heavies, we arrived in the woods about noon of the follow- 
ing day. The fact that we were there for a rest implied 
a stay of from three days to a week; but what a mistake! 

The first and last night in rest camp was everything that 
the name implies. We had arrived in the middle of the after- 
noon and so had several hours of daylight in which to put our 
house in order. There were long frame buildings for the men 
and little huts for the officers. After the filth had been pushed 
out of the door, they seemed like palatial quarters in compari- 
son with the dugouts back at Brabant. The sound of distant 
firing could be easily heard, but we rested secure in the thought 
that we were well out of range. At 7 o'clock in the evening, 
the entire regiment was sound asleep, and at 7 o'clock in the 
morning it was just beginning to wake up. 

98 



A History of Battery F S-Sd Field Artillery 

It was the last day of October. Another one of those 
bright days so unusual for that time of year in France. 
Undoubtedly the fine weather which was experienced on the 
Western Front in October contributed to hasten the day of the 
armistice, at least it made possible the final great military opera- 
tions of the Allies. The weather had effected some improve- 
ment in the fiendish mire that engulfed us on the former 
visit to those woods. There was plenty of mud, that was eter- 
nal. But this time, it was possible to traverse the mud by 
a series of detours and broad-jumps on what in general terms 
could be called a path. 

The supply officer received a consignment of new clothing 
for the men. We were badly in need of it. At the same time, 
orders came that we would be on the road ready to march 
by 4 o'clock in the afternoon. It seemed as though the spirit 
of unrest that haunted Gallieni was getting the upper hand. 
The one night of untrammelled sleep could not atone for the 
disturbance that had first given that place its reputation. Three 
nights in rest camp might have, but that was denied us. 
The rest of the day until the middle of the afternoon was 
spent in issuing breeches and rubber boots. The boots were partic- 
ularly welcome for many of the men had worn out their shoes. 
The oceans of mud rendered worn shoes uncomfortable and 
unhealthy. But our pleasure was short lived. The equipment 
majiual for artillery regiments did not provide for an issue of 
rubber boots so that a high commander was legally justified 
in ordering the boots turned in because he objected to the 
appearance of the men's rolls with the boots strapped to 
them. 

It was just getting dusk when we took the road. The 
usual circumstances prevailed in which we were in total 
ignorance of where we were going or what adventure would 
be the next. It was simply a case of follow the leader. One 
always had the same feeling during the night marches. A 
sense of resignation and of doing the thing immediately at 
hand without a thought to waste on expectations. The outlook 
was all confined to the vehicle immediately in front. That might 
be the leading carriage or it might be behind four miles of 
other carriages, but nevertheless, it controlled without a word 

99 



A History of Battery F 32 ^d Field Artillery 

the lives and movements of those who stared at it from behind. 
We learned to know the details of the carriage in front just as 
a sick man knows the spots and lines on the ceiling over his 
head. 

That frame of mind prevailed when it was discovered that 
the column had passed three kilometers toward the west and 
was in Nixeville. A church bell struck the hour — 7 o'clock. 
It was an impressive and wonderful sound — a prophecy of the 
peace which was eleven days ofT. Many miles back of the 
German lines there was another town and another church bell 
striking the hour. But between Nixeville and Marville, there 
stretched the hideous tract of the Western Front, in which no 
peaceful citizen had an abode. Our column turned north, and 
we heard no more church bells until nearly three weeks later 
when the barrier had been crossed and we heard a bell in 
Marville ring out the tidings of deliverance of the latter 
town from the German yoke. 

Our march was in the same general direction from which 
we had come when withdrawing from the Argonne. But the 
road was up on the heights to the east of the narrow \alley 
which led toward Verdun. There were no trees, and in the 
dull gray light it seemed as though w^e could look ofif into infi- 
nite distances. The only thing to divert attention from the 
carriage in front was a flashing, which illuminated the sky at 
regular intervals. It proceeded from the plateau ahead of us. 
At first we took it for a signal projector, and tried to read 
the message. Dot dash dot, dot dash dot, over and over again 
by the hour, it never changed. At length, we passed right by 
the source. It proved to be a battery of six searchlights which 
illuminated a level area, the landing place of night bombing 
planes. The signal flash was intended to act as a candle in 
the window, when the aviators, who were probably soaring 
over the Rhine should return home. We wondered why such 
a display did not invite immediate destruction from Hun fliers. 

In the wee small hours, we descended into the woods and 
pulled up along the side of the road to spend what was left 
of the night. At the time it did not concern our thoughts 

100 



A History of Battery F ^2jd Field Artillery 

where we were on that morning. Recent inquiries proves the 
place to have been the Bois de Bethelainville, a part of the 
Argonne. 

At zero hour on the morning of November 1st, a powerful 
offensive was commenced by the American First Army operat- 
ing on the west bank of the Meuse. The attack was destined 
to be the knock-out punch of the war. The three-twenty-third 
was so sound asleep after its march from Verdun that our 
knowledge of what was going on would have been the same 
if we had been in Timbuctoo instead of in reserve just behind 
the lines. The first intimation that big game was afoot, came 
when we received orders to take the road at 8 o'clock. That 
was the first time since we had joined the ''active list" that a 
march started in the full light of morning. It was contrary 
to all precepts of secrecy and safety. We knew then, that 
somebody was on the run, and with a justified optimism, guessed 
who that somebody might be. 

The column was quickly formed and started out at a 
rapid pace over a good road. The woods were deserted and 
desolate. Discarded equipment and debris of troops, together 
with numerous dugouts, showed how recently the vicinity had 
been the scene of fighting. But the tide of battle had swept 
on toward the north and left us to overtake it as best we 
could. 

The sun was bright, the road was dry and we felt very 
cheerful on that victorious march over the hilly road in the 
Argonne. It was a policy to rest ten minutes out of every 
hour. During one such rest, we heard a rumor of those good 
tidings which were exulting the whole civilized world. An 
officer from the 32nd Division headquarters rode bv and reined 
in his horse long enough to tell us that Austria was begging 
for immediate peace. Such news accomplished everything which 
could be expected toward raising our spirits, and about noon 
we cleared the woods and found ourselves on the scarred fields 
back of Montfaucon. The vicinity was familiar although we 
were further to the west than on our previous visit. Among 
all the destruction which we had seen there was nothing to 
equal that landscape. The illimitable stretches of barbed wire 
and trench systems had almost lost their outline. Large trees 

101 



A History of Battery F J^jrf Field Artillery 

had been sheared off and then their stumps uprooted. The 
ground on every hand was overturned by the bombardment 
of huge shells so that it was as rough as the ocean during a 
storm in the deep sea. In fact the whole face of nature had 
been changed by the great barrage of September 26th. The 
road which crossed that wilderness was only passable by 
virtue of feats of repairing accomplished by American engi- 
neers. The memory of the great barrage which had been the 
experience of our first night on the front made the spectacle 
of its effect very interesting. We observed plain evidence of 
the rapid German withdrawal on that front. 

The spirit of victory was in the air. A group of several 
hundred engineers and doughboys suddenly set up a shout and 
started pell-mell in one direction. They ran like a crowd might 
run after a victorious football game. The cause for so unusual 
an outburst was an order to form a lane through which a hun- 
dred and fifty German prisoners passed on their way to the 
rerr. U -wa- the o:!'" f.ntbreak of exuberant spirits that we ever 
saw on the front. And it was a rare contrast to the implacable 
and philosophical attitude which was usually maintained on 
every occasion by the soldiers in France. 

Everybody was devoured by a great curiosity to know just 
what was taking place ahead of us ; all sorts of rumors were 
afloat. They said that forty thousand prisoners were taken 
and that the German armies were in full retreat. It was later 
established by official communiques that eight thousand had been 
taken, and that the First Army was meeting with so little resist- 
ance that difficulties of transportation were the only things in 
the way of sweeping through to Sedan. 

Later in the afternoon, the gray sky which had dimmed 
the morning sunlight, now obscured it altogether. The air was 
raw and damp. The exertions of the march were beginning to 
tell. It felt as though we had left the rest camp in the Bois 
de Ville a week before, instead of the day before, inasmuch 
as there had been only a few hours rest, and one scanty meal 
since that time. It began to be hard for us to appreciate the 
qood news of the day as we had appreciated it in the morning. 

The column passed through Avocourt, which was the name 
given to a field strewn with bricks, plaster and debris. It was 

102 



A History of Battery F S^Sd Field Artillery 

a total demolition, where not one stone was left standing upon 
another. Doubtless the few corners which remained standing 
after the barrage tottered so dangerously that the engineers 
had pulled them down to use the stone for repairing the roads. 
Near the site of Avocourt, there were two large tents which 
showed we were still a long way behind the fight. Just as we 
passed the tents, a line of about 25 naked men suddenly rushed 
out of one tent and into the other ! That was an unexpected 
sight. Evidently, the place was a delousing station, and it had 
a certain appeal to a good many of our men. Capt. Dempsey 
resolved if we halted near there, to make the best of his 
opportunities. 

But it seemed as though we would never halt until the time 
when the horses were ready to lie down and die. We reached 
the seared remnants of the Bois de Montfaucon just before 
dark. The 322nd Field Artillery whicli had been ahead of i^, 
all day, was pulled off into the mud beside the road. We 
passed them with great difficulty over the rough ground, and 
pulled into the woods. Battery F was near the head of the 
regiment and in order that all the l^atteries miQ^ht stow 
themselves in the designated area it was necessary for us to 
go deep into the woods. The trees were no hindrance. So 
many of them had been shot away or cut down for the construc- 
tion of dugouts and "abris" that the woods were very sparse. 
But it was a fine feat of driving to steer six horses and a car- 
riage around the shell-holes. The latter were so deep and 
numerous that they invited destruction at every step. It was 
a great relief when the battery had plunged sufficiently forward 
without mishap, and the shout "thatle do" was heard. 

It spite of fatigue and surpassing hunger, it was necessary 
to put immediately into practice the maxim of "horses first." 
The animals had had no water for more than twenty-four hours, 
and since none was to be seen in the Bois de Montfaucon, it 
looked as though we would be shortly immobilized. But some 
engineers who had a camp nearby, knew of a spring about a 
mile away, so that with buckets the horses were watered after 
considerable difficulty in the dark during the course of several 
hours. The night was raw and a cold drizzle had set in. We 
had need of a Tom Collins or at least a drink of hot coffee. 

103 



A History of Battery F S-jd Field Artillery 

Great was the disappointment when the water-cart was declared 
to be empty. Contributions of water from every man's canteen 
were requested in order that coffee might be forthcoming. 
Again the engineers who looked so comfortable in their pup 
tents came to the rescue, and gave us water from their kitchen. 
The dinner which the cooks prepared was too good; it con- 
sisted of a fresh quarter of beef, which we had brought from 
the "rest camp." The beef had to be cut up and stewed and 
the cravings of the battery could hardly brook the delay. Some 
men fell asleep before they had eaten. 

It was necessary to find some protection from the cold rain. 
Most of the men pitched their tents or crawled under a paulin. 
A few privileged persons found shelter under the fourgons. 
They had been left near the road where we had turned in. It 
was worth all that it cost to stumble through the blackness and 
shell-holes to where the fourgons were standing. 

The next morning everybody expected to resume the march, 
so of course, the march was not resumed. During the morning 
it was learned that a French ordnance inspector was in the 
neighborhood. A message was sent requesting him to look at 
Sergeant BeHgoy's piece which had a suspicious scratch in the 
bore. The inspection of the bore of this gun made by the 
French officer was the only one of the kind ever made in 
Battery F after Coetquidan by any officer of higher rank 
than the battery and battalion commanders. After the armis- 
tice, inspections by officers from brigade, division, corps, army 
or A. E. F. headquarters ranking from major to major general 
were of nearly daily occurrence. It was considered of the 
greatest importance that the outside of the painted gun car- 
riage should be smeared over with the priceless mineral oil 
used in the recoil mechanism, to impress the Germans 
with our efficiency, but it never occurred to an inspector 
to open the breech to see if the gun was in a condition 
to fire. Early in the afternoon Major Fibich declared 
that we might as well start to get comfortable. 
It then became a choice between occupying Boche 
dugouts so filthy that the rats in them must have felt a sense 
of shame, or erecting some sort of shelter in the drenched 
outdoors. That debate was cut short by a courier who brought 

104 



A History of Battery F S^jd Field Artillery 

an order to harness and hitch immediately. It seemed as 
though the "nemesis" of GalHeni was on our heels. But we 
were just as well pleased to move out of so homeless a place. 
Besides, there was no telling how far the battle had gone while 
we lingered. 

The work of breaking camp was easy since there was 
no camp to break. The horses were harnessed and hitched in. 
One of them had to be shot and his carcas left to help raise 
a new forest. That brought the supply of horses to such a 
low figure that it was impossible to move all the carriages. 
A caisson was therefore abandoned. The battery was now 
reduced to four gun sections, three fourgons, a rolling 
kitchen, a water cart and a ration cart. Our route of march 
from Brabant Hill was marked by the extra caissons, horses 
and harness, which had been abandoned. Some of this 
property was subsequently restored to the battery when a 
new supply of horses enabled us to send back for caissons. 

By half-past two in the afternoon, we had started to 
pull out of the thickets and shell-holes. It was too good to 
be true that the pulling out of the woods, which is the hard- 
est part of a march, would be accomplished in broad daylight. 
We came to a halt behind Battery A. The drivers dis- 
mounted and stood ready to drive on when our turn should 
come. Just below us in the woods we could see the big 
guns of 324th standing in like predicament waiting their turn. 
An hour passed and still the movement was held up. The 
men stamped their feet, the heads of the horses drooped. 
The afternoon was damp and chilly. Time which has never 
stopped since the Creation Day did not stop then, but it 
felt like it. The hours dragged by without a word of 
explanation or any order to do anything than just to stand 
and wait. Then came darkness, and we knew what it would 
mean to get out of there without a wreck. We took our 
mess kits to the kitchen and had supper. Fires were built 
and nobody who shivered in the night rain had the heart to 
order them to be put out. In fact, a few warm bombs would 
have been welcome. At last when 11 o'clock at night came, 
there was a stir in Battery A. Men and horses shook out 
the kinks and silently put in operation the almost forgotten 

105 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

powers of propulsion and that gave us cheer. But we did 
not realize the difficulty of reaching the road ; and we again 
revised our ideas of what could be accomplished when it 
had to be. There is a figure of speech which talks of not 
being able to see the woods for the trees. We could not see 
the woods for the shell craters and could not see those for 
the blackness of the night. We pulled ahead a few yards 
and then stopped to wait for Battery A to make progress. 
They were having a time of it. Some lanterns were jerked 
around in the woods ahead and then we heard the old familiar 
war cry "All cannoneers report." Somebody called for shov- 
els and picks. There was a great straining and grunting and 
a "now altogether." Battery F dismounted and waited while 
the first battalion struggled into and out of shell holes and 
finally after a long delay cleared the woods. 

When we moved again every precaution was taken to 
steer the guns and the sick, worn horses on the bent and 
narrow way. The cannoneers were saved any amount of 
toil and swearing by being placed on the lip of every pit fall. 
It was their duty to shout to the drivers which way to swing 
their teams. Wherever the path was straight a lantern was 
held at the end of it with instructions to drive straight for it. 
Then one carriage at a time was started. This scheme, 
devised by Major Fibich, worked so well that it is certain 
that those teams could have passed through the eye of the 
needle where the camel failed. It is a great credit to the driv- 
ers of Battery F that they drove the guns and caissons from 
the depth of the woods without dropping one carriage into a 
shell hole and that the entire battery was on the road 20 
minutes from the time the final movement began. All other 
batteries were not so fortunate. One gun fell to the bottom 
of an exceptionally large hole dragging a horse with it. 
The animal looked ludicrously content with his ears sticking 
out above the ground and a little grass to chew at the level 
of his nose. 

The explanation for that deplorable delay was that the 
brigade was to march as a unit and since Colonel Ashburn, 
in command of the heavy regiment, was ranking colonel, his 
outfit was designated to take the lead. The drivers of this 

106 



A History of Battery F 32^6 Field Artillery 

regiment had been trained to drive automobiles and trucks 
and had had no experience with horses until they were issued 
to them a few days before the brigade left for the front. 
The inexperience of the men, the inadequacy of the horse 
flesh, and the great weight of 155 Howitzers, always made 
the progress of the 324th on the road very slow. But in 
spite of this, and although the 324th often started from posi- 
tions in the rear of those occupied by the light regiments 
and moved to positions behind those to be occupied by them, 
it was the invariable custom for the 324th to be ordered to 
move out ahead of the 322nd and 323rd. Many long delay? 
on the cold night marches had hitherto occurred on this 
account, causing very great hardship to men and animals in 
the stalled light regiments and undoubtedly aggravating, to 
a very great degree, the losses in horses. On this particular 
night, rain had rendered the rough ground of the woods so 
impassable that some guns of the 324th did not take the road 
at all. We had yet one more night march to make and it 
was made under similar conditions. 

Once out of the woods, the road on which we found 
ourselves was good, and the battery rattled along to make 
up lost time. Montfaucon was close by. We started to ascend 
the slope toward the town. There was some question whether 
the horses could make the hill after their hours of harnessed 
idleness followed by exhausting efforts to get out of the woods. 
But the road was hard, and the several inches of watery mud 
on its surface caused little resistance. Before the steepest 
part of the ascent was reached, we swung to the left and 
climbed over the west slope of the hill. Once we were held 
up by a blockade of empty trucks which were trying to pass 
in the opposite direction. While we waited for a chance to 
move ahead, a battalion fourgon which was just ahead of the 
battery, wanted something to do and backed itself into a 
concrete culvert. We thereupon, had some road clearing to 
do on our own score. The fourgon was completely unloaded 
of its valuable instruments, which were layed in the mud, 
there t)eing no other place to put them. Then with the 
assistance of battery cannoneers, the pesky wagon was lifted 
back onto the road. 

107 



A History of Battery F 32jd Field Artillery 

In the wee small hours, a damp chill penetrated to the 
marrow and it was expedient to travel most of the time on 
foot. The drivers and the cannoneers spelled each other on 
the teams. Through the sloppy gray mud, which covered the 
hard surface of the road, all sensations were simplified into 
one monotonous plodding, measured only by the long duration 
of the night. 

When the first gray light began to penetrate the black 
mist so that one could see, the sides of the road and then the 
fields beyond, we perceived that we were passing through open 
country where the road was screened by long nets of camoU' 
flage. The realization that day had dawned came suddenly 
when we stopped at a cross road and looked around. Some- 
body said, "Why, it's daylight." Several military policemen 
on duty at the cross roads were the companions of the new 
day. The dormant faculties of thought and curiosity awoke 
and we asked the M. P. what the news was. And he con- 
firmed the reports of rapid successes on that front. Artillery 
had been going forward in great numbers, and infantry rein- 
forcements had been rushed forward in trucks. In the wisdom 
of the M. P. we could not have stood so exposed at that 
cross road the day before. The spot was one, subject to a 
prodigous shelling and it was a cause for great wonder why 
we were undestroyed at that very moment. Perhaps he 
thought it a chance to play on green imaginations ; but 
more likely a shell had arrived in the memory of that M. P. 
and it had been multiplied in the telling until each fragment 
had become a projectile. 

A little further on and we passed through the town of 
Nantillois. One of the buildings which was rather less 
dilapidated than the others, had a German sign on it, indicat- 
ing that there used to be an officer's club. Only a few weeks 
before, it had evidently been so far behind the lines that it 
constituted a sort of Boche S. O. S. where officers might come 
for rest and recuperation. But times had changed. It was 
now so far behind the lines in the opposite sense that Nantil- 
lois was an American watering place. There were signs up 
with big arrows pointing to "water for men and animals." 

Beyond the town, there was a long steep hill, but the 

108 



A History of Battery F J^jrf Field Artillery 

horses seemed to share the sense of stimulation which always 
came with daylight, no matter how hard had been the pre- 
ceding night. We climbed it slowly but without hesitation. 
At the top there was a large dump of water-soaked bread. 
It made a very certain appeal. But a nearby soldier, when 
questioned on the subject, said that a gas bomb had exploded 
so near to the bread that morning as to render it dangerous 
to touch. That sounded like a convenient argument but when 
a man says that bread has been gassed, it isn't worth while to 
debate the question. 

On the right of the road, there was a crowded German 
cemetery. It was well built and judging by the weather- 
stained tombstones and crosses, it had been in use since the 
first year of the war. A testimony of German short-sighted 
foresightedness, was the gate. It was a stone monument with 
an inscription; such a thing as might grace German soil 
forever! Only fifty yards beyond that German construction 
was the first large American cemetery that we had seen 
on the battlefield. It was simpler and infinitely nobler than 
the other. In contrast to the ornate stones, were the rows 
of little wood crosses newly made ; on each was fastened 
the identification tag of the soldier whose grave it marked. 

As we progressed, the signs of recent desperate fighting 
increased. There had been a stretch where shell-holes were 
peculiarly scarce. But now we were approaching a new line 
of resistance. A number of dead mules lay around in weird 
postures. There were perhaps a half dozen ruined tanks 
scattered here and there. They were of both the large and 
small type. Most of them, sadly enough, were French 
tanks. They had their sides mashed in probably by shells 
from a "77" which must have killed all the occupants. One 
German tank was faced by a French only fifty yards away. 
By their positions it was easy to imagine the titantic duel 
that must have been waged by those two iron monsters. 
Perhaps the shells that finished them had been fired simul- 
taneously, so that neither was left to claim a victory. 

It was bankers' hours when we finally pulled off the 
road, crossed a field and penetrated the mud and bushes of 
Madeleine Farm. The colonel's orders carried us that far, 

109 



A History of Battery F 32^6 Field Artillery 

and nobody could say how long we might expect to stay 
there. Subsequent events kept us there six days, so that the 
place became more like a rest-camp than any of our stops 
before the armistice. 

It was in reaHty not a farm at all, as French farms go. 
It will always be thought of as no special place two and one- 
half kilometers southeast of Cunel. Not until several months 
later, did we hear that those bushes were called Madeleine 
Farm. We were on a rise of land, covered by a rough 
space of bushes, and a scrawny grove of trees, the surround- 
ing country was open and rolling. The Germans had built 
a number of small frame shacks and a couple of square 
pavilions, which might have been modified forms of beer 
gardens. Speaking most colloquially the place might have 
been called a "summer resort," and even in its dilapidated 
condition, it was a pleasant contrast to the ruins and earth- 
works we had seen. The real purpose of the establishment 
was betrayed by a number of long strips of blueprint paper, 
which were picked up. They were sound-ranging prints. 
A record of the operation of some Allied gun was :.nven by 
white lines which ran along smoothly for a space and then 
went into contortions when the gun fired and again when 
the shell burst. Thus the time of flight of the projectile 
was registered and its range discovered when such a record 
was made from two diiTerent stations the range arcs could 
be plotted and their intersection would be the location of 
the gun. It is said that the Germans perfected the sound- 
ranging to such an extent that they could locate a gun within 
thirty yards. 

Tokens were not lacking of a recent housewarming at 
Madeleine Farm. Parts of the shacks were demolished by 
shell-fire. One of the larger houses was half blown 
away, but there was plenty of loose lumber with which 
to make crude repairs. An American rolling kitchen had 
been rendered hors de combat and abandoned. It was spat- 
tered with blood, and in the oven was a man's hand. When 
a few days of rest had stimulated the ingenuity of our men, 
they took the iron plates ofif the side of that grewsome 
kitchen and used them to make pancakes. 

110 



A History of Battery F s^sd Field Artillery 

We settled down to repeat our previous experience when 
we waited in reserve before Montfaucon. There were six 
days of waiting with the constant expectation of orders and 
and the more than constant arrival of rumors. The grand 
finale of the war was being waged around us, but the 323d 
was not destined to fire a gun until the curtain was about to 
ring down. 

The preparations which we made for our accommoda- 
tion were entirely temporary. At first, it was a case of getting 
a maximum amount of sleep before ordered to vacate the 




For the Commander-in-Chief 

property. After the first day, we thought we had been there 
so long that it was only a question of hours. Most of the 
men pitched their shelter tents out in an open field, where the 
ground was the consistency of mush. But they were in 
full sight of the battery kitchen where nothing was done 
without their presence being felt. Some of the privileged 
tribes, like Battalion Detail, found luxurious spots in one of 
the shacks where the allotment of space was two by six per 
man. 

The mud was the most prominent feature of Madeleine 
Farm. Not because of the immense and unavoidable quantity, 
not because it oozed and gurgled and acted like a persistent 
boot-jack at every step; but, because of the pungent, musty 

111 



A History of Battery F 32^6, Field Artillery 

vile stench that emanated therefrom. We have smelled worse 
smells, and had more awful whiffs, but there was something 
about that mud which permeated and sickened the sensi- 
bilities. 

Meantime, the headlong withdrawal of the enemy toward 
the north, continued. We were back in the S. O. S. as far 
as shelling from that quarter was concerned. But the cross- 
ing of the Meuse at Dun was not yet accomplished, and the 
Germans still clung to the heights on the east bank. A 
battery of American "55" rifles was located behind us a few 
hundred yards away. During the night that battery hurled 
ear-splitting volleys across the river. Then, when the silence 
seemed deep in contrast we heard the ominous whir and crash 
of Boche shells bursting in the vicinity of the bread dump. 
So, perhaps, the soldier who proclaimed the bread polluted 
by gas had been honestly mindful of our health. 

Then came the day, I think it was November 6th, when 
we heard that one brigade of the Fifth Division had crossed 
the river. Dun was occupied and then the heights 
behind the town. The Germans were withdrawing in 
earnest. Of course, from that time, no more flower-pots 
were hurled back and forth from south of Dun, so that we 
rested in peace. It was on the next day, November 7th, that 
American troops entered the outskirts of Sedan and cut the 
Sedan-Merzieres Railroad, which was the principal objective 
of the entire operation. That great event sealed irredeemably 
the fate of German arms in France. From that hour, our 
successes developed so swiftly and the enemy withdrew with 
such precipitation that division headquarters of the American 
army were at a loss to keep in touch with their own opera- 
tions. There was a time when the location of advance units 
in the line became guess work. 

In such a situation, reserves were not called upon, nor 
was it possible to throw them in where the phases of the 
action were so insufficiently known. Our regiment was attached 
to the 32nd Division which was waiting to relieve the 5th, after 
the crossing of the river had been forced. The difficulties which 
that crossing might entail were appreciated, and during the stay 
at Madeleine Farm, our field officers made frequent reconnais- 

112 



A History of Battery F sz^d Field Artillery 

sance for positions covering the river nea*- Dun. They were 
positions which we were never to occupy. Then there came a 
change, and the Brigade was given the broad designation of 
"Pursuit Brigade." By the way the Germans were going that 
meant that we would have to "gird up our loins." This Colonel 
Hopkins proceeded to do. Battery B was declared immobilized, 
and when the pursuit started that battery would have to remain 
behind and take care of the sick horses. Thus we got rid of 
unserviceable beasts by transfer, and the motive power of B 
was apportioned off to the rest of the regiment. 

The main road toward the north, passed within fifty 
yards of our camp. Over it the rush of traffic which backed 
up the sweeping army, passed night and day. There was no 
longer any time nor necessity for confining travel to the dark 
hours. The bulk of the traffic was motor trucks loaded with 
rations and munitions. Those which carried corn-willy and 
hard-tack were piled up until the canvas tops bulged. The 
trucks with shells always looked empty in comparison, be- 
cause their load was too heavy and too delicate to permit 
more than a couple of layers of boxes. Between those truck 
trains, the small fry passed in rapid succession. Ambulances, 
motorcycles, small cars of colonels, large cars of generals, 
K. of C. flivers and occasionally a Y. M. C. A. ditto. Our 
horses looked out from their picket line in the bushes and 
thought they wouldn't have a look in on such a road. The 
rumors which sprung from that motley traffic, were as varied 
as their source. We heard all things, imagined all things, 
and believed some things. The result was, that on No- 
vember 5th, there was considerable betting in the command 
on whether or not we would ever fire another shot. 

One afternoon, one of the men accumulated enough sur- 
plus energy to walk to Cunel, 2^^ kilometers away. The 
town was sufficiently demolished to satisfy even a barbarian 
constitution; but there were buildings standing in happy con- 
trast to some of the towns which had vanished except for 
strewn debris. Here was an interesting church, the interior 
of which, had been robbed, burned and destroyed. The 
Huns had added insult to sacrilege and used the church for 
a movie show. There was a sign "Kino" over the door and 

U3 



A History of Battery F 32jd Field Artillery 

part of a German poster beside it. The Red Cross flag, which 
the Americans had erected on tlie church was emblematic of 
the restoration, which was taking place in that outraged land. 
A glance through the door gave an impression of many white 
cots, in the midst of broken cold stone walls. 

An armistice commission had actually been appointed 
and was even then, on its way to confer with Marshal Foch. 
It was presumed that they would pass the lines somewhere 




Potter Stailb Aley Sommers 

"Lest Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot" 



in our vicinity. But the next day, November 8th, a curious 
thing happened. It taught us that we were more credulouf 
than sensible, but it entirely cured us of any idea which 
prevailed, that a cessation of fighting was near. All day the 
appetite for reliable news had been growing, and because 
we w«^:re in ignorance of what to expect, the suspense was 
even more intense. Major Fibich and the members of his 
battalion party had gone north on a reconnaissance, during 
the afternoon. If it was true that the enemy had run away 

114 



A History of Battery F s^sd Field Artillery 

from the fight, we would soon know about it from the 
major. When it got dark, we took the usual precautions 
against letting the light of our candles shine outdoors. There- 
fore, the scenes on the road were shut out by shelter-halves, 
paulins and the walls of the cottages. Suddenly, a shout was 
heard from the direction of the road, and it was followed 
by a whoop and a holler. Somebody stuck their head into 
the room and said that the armistice had been signed. Au- 
thority for such a radical statement was that of the military 
policeman on the road, reliable liars ! They claimed that all 
vehicles on the road were then and there permitted and 
ordered to display a light. That was easily verified. We 
looked out, and sure enough the road was a long and winding 
line of lights. It looked like the road from New Haven 
to Bridgeport on the evening after a big game. It was the 
{first time that such a bold, unusual sight had ever been 
seen on the Western Front. In the face of that proof the 
323d Regiment of Field Artillery proceeded to believe that 
the armistice was signed ; but the guns which had not been 
silent for four years were not silent then. We heard the 
roar of artillery distinctly, and saw the usual signal rockets 
and flares. An extra edition of rumors was issued from the 
road to explain the apparent disinclination of the front lines 
to cease firing. Major so-and-so on the front seat of an 
ambulance was just back from Stenay where he had seen 
the guns pointed into the air. A great celebration of shooting 
guns and fireworks was going on. Then we had a very 
splendid half-hour, when we smoked cigars and hoped for 
something oflicial on the subject. When Major Fibich came 
back from his reconnaissance, there was a clamor for first 
hand information. Our hopes received quite a jolt. He had 
left the vicinity of Dun-sur-Meuse about four o'clock, and the 
fight was still on. He couldn't understand why they called 
it an armistice when there were American soldiers up there 
being shot to pieces. The lights on the road were an 
extraordinary development, still unexplained. What was a 
man to think? 

Sometime after that unhappy mistake of November 8th, 
we learned that the news of an armistice was published in 

lis 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

America and that the whole country celebrated the false 
report on the same date. It would be an interesting discovery 
to know just what relation, if any, existed between the news 
which gladdened the hearts of Americans along the Meuse 
River, and the report which electrified their homes across 
the ocean. It is probable that the simultaneous occurrence 
of the two large scale disappointments was a vicious coinci- 
dence. The dispatch from Admiral Wilson which was the 
source of the report in America could probably not have 
bounded over official wires and been caught up so innocently 
along the Meuse. It would have received official recognition 
and been denied long before it could reach the troops along 
that remote road. The lighting of the road on that night 
was the cause and proof of what was said. Such a radical 
departure was authorized for a portion of the road only. It 
was one of the strenuous measures which were taken at the 
end to expedite the movement of our troops in their final 
victorious pursuit of the retreating foe. 

On the afternoon of November 9th, the 32nd Division, 
which had been waiting impatiently in reserve, re- 
ceived orders to move and with it, the 158th Brigade. The 
field which we had been occupying was nothing short of a 
bog after the heavy rains. Fortunately it was higher than 
the road, so that the materiel, wagons, and kitchens were 
able to splash their way down hill without much trouble. 
Once on the road, there was no delay. We struck northward 
on a hard stone surface that ran like a black ribbon through 
the rolling water-soaked country. It was just dark when 
we cleared the first rise beyond Madeleine Farm. Looking 
back, the sky was lighted by a red glow. An officer who 
stayed behind until the last, told us later that the shack 
occupied by the officers of Battery F, and the one next door 
had burned up. We have always felt sure that the cause of 
the fire was a defective flue — for some of our last days had 
been spent in building a fireplace and chimney deluxe out 
of the bricks which lay around. The incident was a small 
but sentimental one in that ravaged country. 

The dusk faded into a dark gray mist which in turn was 
gradually absorbed by a cold, clear night. The first stop 

116 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

which arose from some unknown cause at the head of the 
long column found us on a bend of the road at the entrance 
to Cunel. A congestion of trucks in the town ahead, gave 
it the complexion of a long halt, and Captain Dempsey ordered 
the kitchen to serve supper, which was in progress when the 
command to "move forward immediately" was received. Be- 
yond Cunel there began that series of hahs, which made the 
last march of the war seem the most trying one of all. We 
were still eight kilometers from Dun-sur-Meuse and, although, 
as always, our destination was unknown, it was a fair guess 
that we would cross the river at that place. Such proved 
to be the case, but only after those eight kilometers had been 
accomplished by an exasperating series of a few yards 
progress, between countless halts. The entire brigade was 
on the road with the 324th heavies in the lead as usual. It 
didn't seem possible even for the 324th would have a horse 
down or a wheel off every two minutes. The 32nd Divi- 
sion was on the move and we envied the rapid progress 
which the long files of doughboys made as they passed us 
who were the lame and halt, chiefly halt. At four corners, 
we turned sharply toward the east, and just then the word 
was passed along quickly to put out all cigarettes. There was 
a whirring close overhead, which seemed to hang there while 
our tense feelings urged it to move on. Even against the 
starry sky, not a trace of the plane was visible; only the 
ominous hum of its motor could be heard. Then there was 
a flash and an explosion on our rig'ht, followed by several 
more behind us. Doubtless the target was the crossroads we 
had just passed. That was the first time that the regiment 
had been bombed while on the march. There were no dis- 
astrous results. Probably the actual populated condition 
of the road was as obscure to the airman as his machine 
was to us. It was surprising that the bombs did not create 
a greater explosion. They were evidently small-sized, and 
their effect was no greater than that of a shell from a "77." 
In Ancreville, we stopped near a building where Lieu- 
tenant Johnson, formerly of the 323rd, was engaged in work 
with division headquarters. There was plenty of time for a 
visit. At the rate the batteries were moving, there would 

117 



A History of Battery F ss^d Field Artillery 

have been time for a shampoo and a haircut. Johnson had 
maps showing the latest information about the front hues. 
The German army was still intact and we had a day and 
night job to defeat it. Indeed, any trace of thought which 
might have existed concerning an armistice had been blown 
\nto fragments by the bombs ten minutes before. 

From Ancreville, the road led down hill along one side 
of a broad, deep valley. There was evidence that the route 
had once been a picturesque French highway. Characteristic, 
straight rows of trees bordered the road, or rather half of them 
did. The Huns had cut down many and left only the stumps. 
Near the foot of the grade was the town of Doulcon. The 
exhilarating glimpse of buildings standing almost intact showed 
how precipitately the tide of battle had twice rushed over that 
area. 

Since we had halted every 100 yards on the way to 
Doulcon, it was no wonder that we also halted in the town. 
Somebody mentioned the name of the place, but that added 
nothing to the knowledge or absence of knowledge of our 
whereabouts. As usual, the outlook on geography was confined 
between the back of the carriage in front and the heads 
of the horses in the rear. The night was getting extremely cold 
and it was necessary to stamp up and down on the road to 
keep up a reminiscence of circulation in toes that were nearly 
frozen. There was a railroad a few steps ahead and across 
that lay the explanation of the unfortunate jerks by which 
our portion of the column had arrived there. The road led on 
to a newly built bridge over which a guard was permitting 
only three vehicles to pass at one time. Each time that three 
teams went ahead the whole colmn moved up so as to bring the 
next carriages to the starting point. The procedure must have 
been going on for hours in order to get the entire brigade 
across, and with Battery F the last in line, it is no wonder 
we started the hesitation waltz back as far as Cunel. 

The bridge, which had been built under shell fire, was 
a splendid tribute to the efficiency of American engineers. The 
river at that point divided and flowed around a steep island 
which was outlined against the sky by tall trees and a hand- 
some stone building. At first we wondered if that really 

118 



A History of Battery F J2jd Field Artillery 

was the Meuse, there seemed to be so Httle water in the dark 
river bed; but beyond the island the second instaUment of that 
magical bridge spanned a deep, swiftly rushing river. On the 
far side, we entered the substantial town of Dun-sur-Meuse. 
The crossing of the Meuse at that point was the fulfillment 
of what had long been the ambition and resolute purpose of the 
First Army operating under Lieutenant-General Hunter Lig- 
gett. It was an event of the greatest importance from the point 
of V' iew of military strategy. The movement flanked and almost 
surrounded the enemy forces which occupied the strongholds 
north of Verdun in the vicinity of the Grande Montague. All 
that country was therefore liberated at a stroke without the 
prolonged and bloody assaults which would have been necessary 
to drive the enemy back by frontal operation. But the results 
were more far-reaching than that, for with an army operating 
east of the Meuse the Sedan-Longuyon railroad could no longer 
be of use to the enemy, and with that artery of supply cut they 
must necessarily withdraw from northeastern France. Such 
a withdrawal had begun, when the high command designated 
certain units, the 32nd Division among them, as pursuit units. 
It was the purpose to catch and destroy the German army 
before it had time to escape intact beyond the frontier. The 
operation was planned and strenuously pushed without, of 
course, the slightest consideration of the fact that German 
delegates were even then conferring with Marshal Foch to 
bring about an armistice. 

The picture at Dun-sur-Meuse on the night of Nov. 9th 
was in keeping with the significance of the occasion. The river 
looked very small as it wound a swift course between the 
heights of the surrounding country. Toward the west the 
land ascended gradually, but several miles back from the river, 
the rolling farm lands rose to a considerable height above the 
valley. All that night, the unending columns of infantry, ma- 
chine guns and artillery descended slowly but surely, the several 
roads which converged at the little white bridge at the bottom. 
And the bridge was white even on that moonless night because 
a heavy frost outlined every timber. The town of Dun nestled 
on a narrow ledge between the river and a steep cliff which rose 
up abruptly, dominating the town and all the surrounding coun- 

119 



A History of Battery F j^jd Field Artillery 

try. In Dun, the slender line of countless soldiers turned 
to the right and started their gradual ascent into the highland 
region of northern France. It was like a triumphal entry into 
a new country. 

When the men saw the overshadowing cliff, there were 
many expressions of surprise that such a place could ever 
have been wrested from the hands of even a half-hearted foe. 
But the secret of the silence which those high shadows pre- 
served while the army marched beneath them, was to be found 
further north. It was the crossing in the vicinity of Stenay 
which had forced the Germans to withdraw from the heights 
back of Dun. 

The bridge was crossed about midnight, but it seemed 
later. The unsteady gait had worn out both horses and men. 
We turned south and started to climb up the face of the hills 
which overlooked the river. The job of urging the heavily load- 
ed carriages to the top seemed formidable under the circum- 
stances. But situated at the summit of that three-kilometer 
grade was the town of Liny, where it was understood the regi- 
ment would halt for the remainder of the night. Encouraged 
by that thought, the drivers kept their horses in the harness 
and we proceeded. 

The air became more bitterly cold at every step. Each 
man who was not taking a turn on the teams stamped along 
on foot, and did everything possible to encourage the circulation 
not to fail. After an interminable effort. Liny was reached. 
The houses were dark and desolate, but they held distinct 
attractions when viewed from the exposed road. Alas, if the 
intention ever existed that we should tarry it was changed by 
events of the night. We pushed through the town without 
a pause, even accelerating the gait with the assistance of a level 
stretch in the road. On the far edge of Liny, the ascent was 
steeper than ever. The forlorn horses stopped many times 
without the slightest persuasion, and started again only after 
the most strenuous punishment. Here and there along the 
road were vehicles which had fallen out of their place in the 
column. They were pulled or rather not pulled, by horses 
which refused to take another step, undoubtedly members of 
the "no oats, no work" gang. The most conspicuous in point 

120 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

of size was a huge overloaded park chariot. It was piled 
higher than a house with equipment of the 324th heavies. The 
six horses undergoing punishment plunged around in a most 
helpless manner, and manoeuvered athwart the road so as to 
leave us the smallest possible loophole for slipping by. The 
most conspicuous delinquent in point of noise was the ration 
cart of Battery E whose one lone horse was being told in un- 
mistakable terms just where to go and just what the driver 
thought of him. 

When the top of the ridge was reached, we inclined 
to the east and left the vicinity of the river. The road 
entered a deep narrow valley and there around us was a 
strange sight. Camp fires dotted with points of light, the 
dark hills on both sides of the valley. It was the first time 
that the "watchfires of a thousand circling camps" had been 
seen at the front. We looked on it with increased surprise 
having in mind the bombs which had been dropped earlier 
in the night. But even as we looked some official, who was 
either more warm blooded or more cautious than the others 
must have arrived because a voice bellowed in the distance, 
"all fires out immediately." Then we passed the guns and 
caissons of the "heavies" parked beside the road. It was 
their bivouacks which occupied the valley. They were in the 
act of unhitching their horses and created a nice mess by 
trying to lead them to water against our column. 

The fact that part of the brigade had halted, w^as a 
fair indication that the long cold hours of the dreary night 
were nearly ended. Just how far we had come was a ques- 
tion that would have stumped the warmest participant. It 
was so far that the night's performance had proved beyond 
doubt the proposition that man and stupid horses do not 
play out, but that they have a reserve strength which can 
carry them always a little farther. The gray light of early 
morning was just creeping over the country when we pulled 
into a field of weeds and shell holes. The command was 
given "unhitch — feed oats." 

It was half past five on the morning of November 10th, 
they told us to be ready to march again at seven o'clock. 
The most vital concern of all was not sleep, nobody ex- 

121 



A History of Battery F 3236 Field Artillery 

pected anything like that, but it was the corn-willy and 
coffee which the cooks were exceedingly busy preparing. 
The advent of daylight eliminated any objection to fires and 
no time was lost in reducing an old wooden shed to a con- 
dition of fuel. Then the early sun slanted through the 
valley and began to dispose of the white frost. Things be- 
gan to look up. 

We took our bearings in a hazy sort of way, but got 
no further than that the regiment was halted in a hollow 
between rough hill-sides. The dirt road and a straggling 
orchard beyond made it appear more like a corner of good 
old Connecticut than any landscape in France. To be sure, 
there was a German narrow gauge railroad and plenty of 
shell holes, but nature had covered up those tokens of the 
first Hun invasion with weeds and grass. And then came 
the doughboys, who had not been seen since the bridge at 
Dun had been crossed, so long ago. They streamed by, a 
whole regiment in single file, and with them were the com- 
pany burros pulling two wheeled carts containing rifle am- 
munition. It was just such a picture as has often been seen 
near the training camps in America. When the infantry 
with full pack and rifle have gone out over the hills for 
manoeuvers under an early morning sun. Only there was 
a dift'erence for these men were more rugged and more 
solemn and their clothes and steel helmets were stained 
with the mud of stinking trenches. They had a great work 
to do in the next 24 hours and for some of them the final 
sacrifice lay just over the hill where the enemy had turned 
at bay. But of all that we knew nothing while waiting for 
a chance to take the road. 

It was ten o'clock before our turn came to advance 
with the rest of the division. And then for a change, the 
light regiment preceded the 324th. Signs of the rapid and 
recent withdrawal of the Germans were not lacking. Dead 
horses frequently off'ended the olefactory nerve, but for the 
most part they had been carved for juicy steaks and only 
the bones were left. Occasionally long flights of steps ran 
up the hillside on the left to gun emplacements at the top. 
Those steps were well built and even had railings just like 

122 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

national parks might build for an easy approach to some fine 
outlook for tourists. About noon a stop was made to water 
the horses in Haraumont. The name of the town was 
familiar, and we knew immediately where we were. After a 
circuitous march of a hundred kilometers and nearly two 
weeks' time we had arrived back again almost at the starting 
point. Brabant Hill and Death Valley lay eight kilometers 
to the south and the very spot on which we were engaged 
in peacefully watering the horses, had been a target for our 
own concentration fire in the enemy's back area two weeks 
before. The discovery stimulated everybody's curiosity. 
We were eager to see the sights and know the secrets of the 
country which had been the direct object of our efforts. It 
was like a glimpse behind the scenes, so rapidly had cir- 
cumstances changed to bring us there. 

On the bare plateau which stretched away to the east from 
Haraumont, the Huns had begun the preparation of the third 
and most formidable line in the great Kriemhilde defense sys- 
tem. Big trenches, with here and there a concrete "pill-box", 
were left half built. The unfinished defenses were marked by 
stakes or partly excavated trenches. Extensive barbed wire 
entanglements had been under construction but the enemy 
had run away and left huge coils of brand new wire. 
The road by which we traveled the length of the plateau 
in full view of all the world was also part of the im- 
proved system. It had been ditched and drained prepara- 
tory to make of it a military asset and the far end had 
in fact been macadamized into as fine a road as any in France. 
The most inspiring sight was the light batteries, which had 
been captured "in toto," the guns were left peeking out of their 
emplacements, and undoubtedly still trained on the position of 
Battery F at Brabant. What wouldn't we have given to know 
their location two weeks before! Shell craters, large and small, 
were sprinkled around although the ground was by no means a 
sieve like some we had seen. It was a point of controversy 
just which battery of the 2nd Battalion could claim the credit 
for those shell holes which were nearest to the "77" batteries. 
The whole spectacle of construction so suddenly abandoned 
surely proved that the German army was not without some 

123 



A History of Battery F 32jd Field Artillery 

resources nor without the intention to employ those resources 
with efficiency. It strengthens the contention that superior 
military strategy and power of the Allies was after all the 
vital factor in the German defeat. 

Those rays of the sun which still penetrated the gathering 
mists slanted from the west by the time the far end of the 
plateau was reached. Then the road wound down a steep de- 
scent into a beautifully wooded valley. Far below in the bottom 
of the valley lay the town of Ecurey. From that distance it 
appeared untouched by the ravages of war, and the houses 
which gathered around the ubiquitous church might to all ap- 
pearances have been inhabited by townsfolk in the quiet pur- 
suits of peace. We were told by an officer of the brigade staff 
that Ecurey was our destination for that day, and that the 
regiment would wait there in reserve for a short time. The 
fact that it might be our final destination for the World War 
was a suspicion as remote as that the peaceful village would 
presently be the scene of a violent bombardment. The 
column came to a halt with the head of the brigade 
at the bottom of the steep descent and the rest of it 
twisting up behind like the coils of a big snake. We 
waited that way for a long time, so it seemed. Some- 
thing had gone wrong, else why did they keep us from 
the resting place while the sun was sinking behind the brow 
of the hills? The picture of that halt is recalled very clearly. 
Our carriages were drawn up on the outer edge of the road, 
with only a wooden railing separating them from the tree-clad 
hillside which dropped away almost perpendicularly. On the 
opposite side was a crumbling stone cliflF, where the hill had 
been cut away to build the road. Part of the battery above was 
hidden by a protruding shoulder of the hill and then it reap- 
peared and the fourgon which brought up the rear could be 
seen just above where the road doubled on itself. But the 
circumstance which stands out above all others is the recollec- 
tion that as we waited there beside the road, the more we 
thought of horse-steaks and boot-stew, the more palatable the 
idea became. One meal of coffee and willy was a minimum 
for preservation during the last twenty-four hours of exertion 
and when a French rolling kitchen passed up along the line, 

124 



A History of Battery F 3236 Field Artillery 

it was one too much. Hand-outs were requested in starved and 
pleading tones and the good natured Frenchmen compHed by 
fining with hot soup the cups that were passed up to them. 
Although their horses were pulling at a lively gait, there wasn't 
a drop of soup left for the "frogs" by the time they got to 
the top of the hill; it had been given away to a needy cause. 
That diversion put us in mind of something to eat more than 
ever, and the way a man can feel hungry is something awful. 

And then, while we hemmed and hawed on that road above 
Ecurey, all of a sudden the curtain went up for the climax. 
It came without warning but not a whit more sudden than the 
way in which it ended the next morning, Nov. 11th. Somebody 
was in the middle of a sentence, when — whirr, swish, swish, 
swish — CRASH ! Wheee ! ! ! It had landed on the hill below us. 
And then came another and another. It was great to have 
the protection of that rocky wall across the road, but it was 
an awful disappointment to see that the Huns had planned 
an evening's entertainment for us in Ecurey. 

Things moved rapidly from that moment. Reflections were 
cut short by the arrival of a messenger with orders that the 
firing batteries of the Three Twenty-Third would proceed for- 
ward with all haste on the left of the road, where there was 
free passage. At the same time it was stated that an enemy 
counter-attack had driven our own lines back four kilometers. 

Later, inquiries showed that the estimated distance of 
four kilometers was a slight exaggeration. It was however, 
true that our infantry were attacked near Ecurey and driven 
back late in the afternoon of Nov. 10th. The American 
advance had been so rapid that it had outstripped the artil- 
lery support. Advance detachments of the Fifth Division found 
themselves dangerously isolated, in their attempts to keep 
contact with the enemy. It was to support that thin front 
line and to continue the offensive on the right flank of the 
tired-out Fifth that the 32nd had made the forced march of 
the preceding twenty-four hours. The enemy after with- 
drawing from the heights around Haraumont, had crossed the 
rolling valley beyond Ecurey and established himself on a 
ridge of hills, six kilometers east of that town. His artillery, 
although reduced in quantity by the retreat, was still formid- 

125 



A History of Battery F 32^6, Field Artillery 

able and from new positions on the hills to the east, it was 
able to cover the entire valley at the entrance to which Ecurey 
was situated. The Thirty-second Division poured into that 
valley in broad daylight. The infantry, exulting in the open 
warfare for which American temperament was so well adapted, 
pushed ahead leaving the artillery behind. It was then, that 
the Germans attacked, and before our lines could be con- 
solidated severe losses were suffered. The spectacle of the 
wounded being evacuated the next day along an open road 
after the guns were silent, was a sad one indeed. 




Dempsey Piatt Iloltz Breese 

Ecurey (Nov. 11, 1918) 



There was not the sHghtest indication that the appeal for 
immediate artillery action was to be the final tragic scene in 
the world's hideous drama. We undertook it with the idea 
that the war was going stronger than ever. The fourgon 
which carried maps and orienting equipment, was summoned 
from the rear of the battery; guns and caissons were pulled 
out of their places in the column and we advanced as rapidly 
as the steep grade would permit. 

The main street of Ecurey was swarming with newly 
arrived troops of Engineers, infantry, and headquarters de- 
tachments. The fact that division and brigade had intended 

126 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

to locate their headquarters in the town, showed how unex- 
pected was the attack which at that moment was heaving G. I. 
cans into our midst. The air was growing misty and observa- 
tion was impossible which accounted for the fact that the 
enemy could not observe his bursts and correct the range. 
The results would have been disastrous in that seething town. 
We stopped for a few moments and at the same time, there 
was a pause in the bombardment, which was going over our 
heads. It was the calm before the storm. The next minute 
there was a rush through the air, and a tremendous smashing 
and crashing just to the left. This new outburst was of the 
"77" variety. The range was correct but the direction was a 
little wrong because the shells were harmlessly tearing up an 
orchard and a meadow situated at the northeast corner of 
town. The bombardment was violent and sufficiently close to 
be disconcerting. In the midst of the din and shrieking, Major- 
General Haan, who commanded the Division, rode by wearing 
a cloth barrack cap as a dignified emblem of his rank, while 
everybody else felt like snuggling up under their steel helmets. 
To be sure, the General did employ spurs on his horse to good 
advantage which caused him to set off at a handy clip. 

Major Baldwin, First Battalion commander, looked much 
concerned. He kept glancing over to where the dirt was flying 
in the orchard, while he rode along the column as if to bid 
us all farewell. When asked where our positions were, the 
Major pointed toward the corner of the town, and stated that 
we had no choice; our positions must be in that orchard and 
its vicinity. At least there would be no trouble to find depres- 
sions for the trail spades — crash ! — number one piece was all 
fixed up, and smash! bang! there were trail holes enough for 
all the regiment. We proceeded straight through town, and 
near the further end, a road ran off to the left toward Lissey 
where it was seen to pass right by our orchard. We turned 
on that road, which was lucky, because an M. P. at the cor- 
ner said the shells were falling just ahead. It was a choice 
between Scylla and Charybdis, and we were constrained by 
orders to choose the spot where there was the most shelling. 

But "the Lord had the regiment by the hand" and we were 
no sooner headed straight for that fateful field than the bom- 

127 



A History of Battery F 3^sd Field Artillery 

bardment suddenly ceased. The Boche who had lived there 
four years knew the ground far better than we, and he must 
have shelled the orchard on well founded suspicions. But 
without observation he could not see the object of his hate slip 
in just after the punishment has ceased. 

When we turned off the road to take up position, it was 
like creeping on thin ice. Nothing was more certain than that 
a battery of "77" was at that moment so adjusted that it 
could heave up craters tmder our feet without the slightest 
warning, and blow off our heads in the process. The fact 
created a feeling of suspense, to say the least. 

With a consciousness of treading on forbidden ground, 
Battery F pulled up into the forward edge of the orchard. 
There were a few flimsy shacks and outhouses and it was a 
matter of the most careful driving to manipulate six horses 
so as to bring each gun to its place. Then came the command 
"action right." This was open warfare in its purest form 
and would have brought joy to the hearts of Fort Sill in- 
structors. Had they not predicted that open methods would 
ultimately solve the Kriemhilde riddle? The manoeuver in 
question would hardly serve as a model because it was finished 
with the guns ten meters apart. A nice little bunched-up 
target for the elimination of which the Huns would need only 
two well placed shells. That was contrary to all the prin- 
ciples, even for a decoy battery which it looked as though we 
were intended to be. But we were so placed by higher 
orders. 

Darkness marked the end of the attack which demanded 
our fire. The mist which had been so much to our advantage 
lay heavily oxer the face of the country, but overhead the 
sky was clear. A bright star could be seen above the enemy 
positions, and it w-as by means of that star, and the needle 
of the goniometer that the guns were laved for direction. A 
man was then left on the alert at each gun -which is an invari- 
able rule especially when the situation is so precarious as it was 
that night. The rest of the cannoneers found shelter on the 
floor of one of those structures which I have dignified by the 
name of shacks. The officers and instrument details of Bat- 
teries E and F shared together a room in the farmhouse which 

128 



A History of Battery F 3236 Field Artillery 

lay on the edge of Ecurey, only a hundred yards from the guns. 
It was the eve of the greatest day in history but out there 
on that chilled and solemn line there was nothing to awaken 
any suspicion of what the morrow had in store. 

The question of supper, which had been forgotten in the 
excitement, had increased in importance ten fold, since the halt 
in the afternoon. The kitchen was doing business more than 
a kilometer away on the far side of the town. A detail was 
sent back but what they found in the way of eats and at what 
time they returned with the same will have to be told by some- 
one who stayed awake. 

It was the morning of November 11th. Few, if any of 
those who held the suburbs of Ecurey knew or cared what 
morning it was. The wee hours had passed and dawn was 
about to be announced by its herald, the cock, or more accu- 
rately by his successor for four years, the cockroach. We were 
only conscious of that sublime moment by virtue of being 
rudely shaken and exhorted to get busy. There was no hesi- 
tation, habit made the response mechanical. A messenger from 
battalion headquarters called on all the guns of the regiment 
to open up with a barrage to accompany an attack which would 
start at 7 o'clock. The map co-ordinates were given to desig- 
nate the location for the barrage. 

Facilities for the work were not so handy in that trash- 
filled room as in the little dugout on Brabant Hill. First a stub 
of a candle, then a pencil, map ruler, protractor and orienting 
board were assembled on the floor, and the work commenced. 
It is much better to stay up all night on a barrage than to be 
summoned from sleep and immediately try to concentrate the 
scattered senses on the acute computation of a problem. But 
that morning, the demands of an emergency assisted momentum 
and at ten minutes before seven the data were being passed over 
the wire. "From present laying right twenty, open eight, four 
rounds sweeping, shell, normal, short fuse, ten degrees forty- 
two minutes." 

When the action began, it was immediately answered. We 
received four shells for every one. The duel was at short 
range and the hot iron shrieked and crashed among us like 
swift bolts of lightning. There was not a second to lose. So 

129 



A History of Battery F 3236 Field Artillery 

long as our guns could fire they must do so on schedule time. 
The room in which we worked and the window which 
faced the enemy must have been the center of impact for those 
Boche gunners. It was never struck although the shells that 
would have gone through it like paper rained over the whole 
vicinity. One swooped into a barn behind where it wounded 
two men and killed three horses. They blew up the house 
across the street — a very narrow street; and dirt from the 
orchard flew in at the window. What idiot ever said there 
would be an armistice! But the operator in the corner was 
trying to hear something in his telephone receiver. It sounded 
like "cease firing;" such a thing had never happened before in 
the midst of a creeping barrage. What would become of the 
infantry? But the man repeated "CEASE FIRING." Those 
who were working on the schedules seized the opportunity to 
catch up. The operator tried to call the batteries but the lines 
were shot out. Somebody shouted out the window to cease fir- 
ing and somebody else ran out the door to give the same com- 
mand. Our guns were suddenly tamed but the cessation was 
not mutual. For a time, the sharp hate burst over Ecurey ; and 
cooled ofT only gradually just as the hot tubes of the "75's" were 
cooling. 

The transition out of hell was too abrupt to be easily com- 
prehended. It was some time and after many skeptical expres- 
sions before the truth was realized. Attempts were made to 
complete the schedules that would never be required. Lieu- 
tenant Middleton representing the special extra edition of the 
morning paper entered the room and announced that it was said 
that the armistice had been signed. He would not shoulder 
the responsibility for such momentous news. A little later it 
was passed from mouth to mouth that the signal corps was 
wirelessing to all the front that the armistice was signed. We 
began to babble at that. By nine o'clock, the proposition was 
fully accepted when some Frenchmen on the hill said that 
Marshal Foch had actually called for a cessation of hostilities 
at 11 o'clock. 

There was no confetti, helmet tossing, nor cutting of 
capers. We felt dazed with a satisfying, comfortable bewilder- 
ment. A cold, thick mist shut ofT the surrounding country, and 

130 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery ^ 1 

in that mist the men who had unburdened their great strain, 
built themselves bonfires and went to sleep. All firing in the 
vicinity had ceased, but now and then a gun went oflf from 
the French batteries on the hill. It was the privilege of those 
who had fought the Hun before us to send to him the final 
tokens. 

Rutherford H. Platt, Jr. 



131 



A History of Battery F J^Jc? Field Artillery 

17° Corps d'Armee 
Artillerie 

ORDRE DE LA BRIGADE 

Le General GASCOUIN, Commandant I'Artillerie due 17° 
Corps d'Armee, cite a I'ordre de la Brigade. 

Soldat de I ere classe JAMES C. WALKER. 

"Au fait preuve d'un grand courage, en allant comme volon- 
taire, pour ravitailler la compagnie, ce qui necessitait un par- 
cours de 300 meters sous un bombardement intense, pres de 
BRABANT S/I\Ieuse 27 Octobre et 29 Octobre, 1918. 

Le 31 Octobre, 1918. Gascouin. 

Le General Gascouin, Commandant, 

I'Artillerie du 17° Corps d'Armee. 



158 F. A. BRIGADE, A. E. F. 
General Order, 
No. 53. 

12th December, 1918. 

1. In the period of less than three months that has 
elapsed since the Brigade has left its training camp for the 
front it has traversed France ; fought in four divisions and 
three corps ; borne its full share of the great offensive, first west 
of the Meuse, then north of Verdun, then again west of the 
Meuse, which it once more crossed in pursuit of the vanquished 
enemy. 

And on every occasion the guns of the Brigade have 
responded fully to all the needs of the infantry. This has 
been rendered possible only by the untiring labor and the devo- 
tion of its personnel, both commissioned and enlisted. 

2. Since the signing of the armistice the Brigade has 
marched through part of Belgium, crossed Luxembourg and 
all of Germany west of the Rhine. During the march to the 
Rhine there has been a marked and constant improvement in 
the march discipline and march efficiency of the units of the 
Brigade. The conditions under which this march was under- 

132 



A History of Battery F ^2sd Field Artillery 

taken and has been conducted have afforded no adequate oppor- 
tunity for the re-equipment of troops; yet by their continued 
efforts the organizations of the Brigade have done much to 
rehabihtate their war-worn equipment. 

3. The Brigade Commander, who is surely its severest 
critic, feels great pride in these achievements of the Brigade, 
and congratulates all officers and men, who have contributed 
to them, on the results obtained. 

4. The high standard which has been insisted upon by 
the Brigade Commander is within reach, but the price of its 
attainment and maintenance is unceasing and unremitting 
efforts by every member of the Brigade. 

By Command of Brigadier General Fleming. 

S. R. Hopkins, 
Lieut.-Col. F. A. Adjutant. 



158th F. A. BRIGADE, A. E. F. 
General Order 
No. 54 

13th December, 1918. 
I. The following letter has been received: 

HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-SECOND DIVISION 
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. 

Bassenhein, Germany 
11 December, 1918. 
From Commanding General, 32nd Division, American E. F. 
To Commanding General, 158th Field Artillery Brigade. 
Subject: Commendation. 

1. I have noted, especially during the latter part of the 
march of your Brigade to the Rhine, the excellent march 
discipline maintained by the Brigade. This excellence has also 
been commented upon by various officers of the Corps and 
Army. I request that you express to the officers of the Brigade 
my appreciation of the good work thus done. 

2. It has likewise been my impression that the animals 
of the Brigade have been well cared for during the march, 

133 



A History of Battery F s^Sd Field Artillery 

and that they begin to show signs of improvement in condition. 
3. It now devolves upon the Brigade to improve the 
appearance of material and equipment of all kinds and of the 
clothing and equipment of the men. 

Signed : Wm. Lassiter^ 

Major General, U. S. Army, 

II. It is with much gratification that the Brigade Com- 
mander has received for the Brigade, the commendation of 
the Division Commander as expressed in paragraphs 1 and 2 
of the above letter, and it is with keen pleasure that he trans- 
mits them to the officers of the Brigade, who have so well 
merited them by arduous and effective work. 

III. While not unmindful of the marked improvement that 
has been made in the appearance of material, equipment and 
clothing — all of which have been subjected to the wear and 
tear of months of warfare — in fact because of this very im- 
provement, the Brigade Commander calls for increased efforts 
by all officers and enlisted men, in order that the expectations 
of the Division Commander, expressed in paragraph 3 of the 
above letter may be fully realized. 

By Command of Brigadier-General Fleming. 

G. H. Q. 

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES 
General Order 
No. 232 France, December 19, 1918. 

It is with a sense of gratitude for its splendid accom- 
plishment, which will live through all history, that I record in 
General Orders a tribute to the victory of the First Army in 
the Meuse-Argonne battle. 

Tested and strengthened by the reduction of the St. Mihiel 
salient, for more than six weeks you battered against the pivot 
of the enemy line on the Western Front. It was a position of 
imposing natural strength, stretching on both sides of the 
Meuse River from the bitterly contested hills of Verdun to 
the almost impenetrable forest of the Argonne ; a position, 
moreover, fortified by four years of labor designed to render 
it impregnable; a position held with the fullest resources of 

134 



A History of Battery F s^Sd P^^^d Artillery 

the enemy. That position you broke utterly, and thereby 
hastened the collapse of the enemy's military power. 

Soldiers of all of the divisions engaged under the First, 
Third and Fifth American Corps and the Second Colonial and 
Seventeenth French Corps— the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 26th, 
28th, 29th, 32nd, 33rd, 35th, 37th, 42nd, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 
81st, 82nd, 89th, 90th and 91st American divisions, the 18th 
and 26th French divisions, and the 10th and 15th French 
Colonial divisions — you will be long remembered for the stub- 
born persistence of your progress, your storming of obstinately 
defended machine gun nests, your penetration, yard by yard, 
of woods and ravines, your heroic resistance in the face of 
counterattacks supported by powerful artillery fire. For more 
than a month from the initial attack of September 26th, you 
fought your way slowly through the Argonne, through the 
woods and over the hills west of the Meuse; you slowly 
enlarged your hold on the Cotes de Meuse to the east, and 
then, on the 1st of November your attack forced the enemy 
into flight. Pressing its retreat, you cleared the entire left 
bank of the Meuse south of Sedan, and then stormed the 
heights on the right bank and drove him into the plain beyond. 
Soldiers of all army and corps troops engaged — to you 
no less credit is due; your steadfast adherence to duty and 
your dogged determination in the face of all obstacles made 
possible the heroic deeds cited above. 

The achievement of the First Army which is scarcely to 
be equalled in American history, must remain a source of 
proud satisfaction to the troops who participated in the last 
campaign of the war. The American people will remember 
it as the realization of the hitherto potential strength of the 
American contribution toward the cause to which they had 
sworn allegiance. There can be no greater reward for a 
soldier or for a soldier's memory. 

This order will be read to all organizations at the first 
assembly formation after its receipt. 

John J. Pershing, 
General Commander-in-Chief 
Official: American Expeditionary Forces. 

Robert C. Davis, Adjutant General. 

135 



A History of Battery F 32jd Field Artillery 

158TH F. A. BRIGADE 
A. E. F. 
General Order 15th March, 1919. 

No. 17 

1. The Commanding General of the Third Army Corps, 
Major General Hines has directed the Brigade Commander 
to convey to the commanding ol^cers, officers and men of the 
158th F. A. Brigade, his congratulations upon the splendid 
appearance presented by the Brigade in today's review and 
inspection before the Commander-in-Chief, General John J. 
Pershing. He has also directed me to convey his appreciation 
of the splendid spirit which has enabled the Brigade to accom- 
plish such gratifying results under the present conditions. 

2. In conveying these sentiments of the Commanding 
General Third Army Corps to the officers and men of this 
Brigade, the Brigade Commander desires to express his pro- 
found gratitude for the willing spirit of co-operation and over- 
coming of difficulties which has characterized this Brigade 
from its inception, and it is a matter of great pride to him to 
feel that he has the honor of organizing a brigade capable 
of winning such commendation from the Corps Commander, 

3. The Brigade Commander directs that this order be 
published to every officer and man of this Brigade in order 
that they may feel that their efforts toward making the best 
brigade possible has won such commendation from such mili- 
tary authority as the Corps Commander. 

By Order of Colonel Ashburn : S. R. Hopkins, 

Lieut. -Col. F. A., Adjutant. 

HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-SECOND DIVISION, 
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. 
Rengsdorf, Germany. 
General Order 16th March, 1919. 

No. 18 

1. It is a great pleasure to the Division Commander to 
inform the Division that the Commander-in-Chief commended 
most highly the line and soldierly appearance made by the 
Divisions at the review and inspection yesterday. 

The Corps Commander and visiting officers likewise com- 

136 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

plimented the Division in strong terms. There was not a 
discordant note; each corps and arm of service came up to 
the high standard set for it. 

The Division Commander expresses his appreciation of 
the excellent way in which officers and men rose to this occa- 
sion, and he congratulates the Division on once more meeting 
the expectations of those who have watched its career in 
France and Germany, 

By Command of Major-General Lassiter: 

R. M. Beck, Jr., 
Colonel, General Staff, Chief of Staff. 

HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-SECOND DIVISION, 
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. 
201. 1 (Commendations), 

From: Commanding General, 32nd Division, American E. F. 
To: Commanding Officer, 158th F, A. Brigade, American 

E. F. 
Subject: Commendation. 

1. A general order issues today from division headquar- 
ters informing the division of the high commendation which 
the Commander-in-Chief passed upon the division as a result 
of his review and inspection of yesterday. 

I wish, however, to express to you in this more personal 
way my very high appreciation of the fine spirit which so 
obviously animated the troops under your command. The 322d 
Field Artillery, the 323d Field Artillery and the 324th Field 
Artillery, in their soldierly bearing, in the appearance of the 
mounts, of their tractors and of their equipment generally, 
made a showing of which they may well be proud. The light 
regiments in passing in review stirred to enthusiasm all who 
watched them. The 324th Regiment reached all the expecta- 
tions of the Commander-in-Chief and of the Division Com- 
mander in that so soon after being motorized and under such 
unfavorable conditions they had their tractors and guns on the 
reviewing ground ready for inspection and brought to such a 
high standard of cleanliness and obvious efficiency. 

Signed: Wm. Lassiter, 
Major General, U. S. Army. 
137 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-SECOND DIVISION, 
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. 

Rengsdorf, Germany. 

24th March, 1919. 
General Order 
No. 22. 

The following letter is published for the information of all 
concerned : 

ARMY OF OCCUPATION 
THIRD U. S. ARMY 

OFFICE CHIEF OF STAFF. 

Coblenz, Germany, March 19th, 1919. 
From: Chief of Staff, Third Army, American E. F. 
To : Commanding General, Third Army Corps, American E. F. 
Subject : Commendation. 

1. The Army Commander desires me to congratulate the 
Commanding General of the Third Corps on the very satisfac- 
tory condition of the Third Corps troops and the Divisions oi 
the Corps during the recent inspection of the Commander-in- 
Chief. 

2. The condition of your troops voices far more strongly 
than can be accomplished by any other means, the intelligent and 
successful labor which has been expended by all concerned in 
training and instruction since the occupation of the bridgehead. 

By command of Major General Dickman. 
Malik Craig, 
Brigadier General, U. S. A. 

Chief of Staff. 
1st Ind. 
Hq. Third Army Corps, American E. F., March 21, 1919. 
To Commanding General, 32nd Division, American E. F. 

1. For his information. 

2. The Corps Commander desires to express his keen 

138 



A History of Battery F ^^jd Field Artillery 

appreciation of the high compliment paid the Third Corps 

troops and the Divisions of the Corps by the Army Commander. 

By Command of Major General Hines: 

Campbell King 

Chief of Staff. 

By Command of Major General Lassiter: 

R. M. Beck, Jr., 

Colonel, General Staff, 

Chief of Staff. 



HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-SECOND DIVISION, 
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, 
Rengsdorf, Germany. 
General Order 28th March, 1919. 

No. 23. 

1. It is with sincere pleasure that the Division Com- 
mander publishes to the command the following letter from 
the Commander-in-Chief : 

AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, 

Office of the Commander-in-Chief. 

France, March 24, 1919. 
"Major-General William Lassiter, 

"Commanding 32d Division, American E. F. 
"My Dear General Lassiter: 

"Please extend to the officers and men of the 32d Division, 
my sincere compliments upon their appearance and upon the 
splendid condition of the artillery and transportation at the 
review and inspection on March 15th. In fact the condition 
of your command was what would be expected of a division 
with such a splendid fighting record. 

"After training for several months following its arrival 
in February, 1918, it entered the line in Alsace and held this 
sector until the time of the Aisne-Marne offensive, when it 
moved to that active front. On July 30th, it entered the line 
on the Ourcq, and in the course of its action captured Cierges, 
Bellevue Farm and the Bois de la Planchette. The attack was 

139 



A History of Battery F J^jd Field Artillcr^' 

resumed on August 1st, the division pushing ahead until it 
crossed the Vesle, and captured the town of Fismes. On 
August 28th it again entered the Hne and launched attacks 
which resulted in the capture of Juvigny at the cost of severe 
casualties. During the Meuse-Argonne offensive the 32d Divi- 
sion entered the line on September 30th, and by its persistence 
in that sector it penetrated the Kremhilde Stellung, taking 
Romagne and following the enemy to the northeastern edge 
of the Bois de Bantheville. On November 8th the division 
took up the pursuit of the enemy east of the Meuse until the 
time when hostilities were suspended. 

"Since the signing of the Armistice the 32d Division 
has had the honor to act as a part of the Army of Occupation* 
For the way in which all ranks have performed their duties 
in this capacity, I have only the warmest praise and approval. 
The pride of your officers and men, justified by such a record, 
will insure the same high morale which has been present in 
the division during its stay in France. I want each man to 
know my appreciation of the work he has done and of the 
admiration in which he is held by the rest of his comrades 
in the American Expeditionary Forces. 

"Sincerely Yours, "(Signed) John J. Persuing." 

2. This order w^ill be read to the troops at the first 
formation following its receipt and w'ill be posted upon bulletin 
boards. William Lassiter, Major-General, Commanding. 

158TH F. A. BRIGADE 
MEMORANDUM: A. E. F. 11th April, 1919. 

1. The following letter received by the Brigade Com- 
mander from Brigadier General A. S. Fleming, is published 
for the information of the Brigade: 

Headquarters, 5th F. A. Brigade, 
American E. F., A. P. O. 745, 4th April, 1919. 
From: Brigadier General A. S. Fleming, U. S. A. 
To: Commanding General, 158th F. A. Brigade, 
Subject: Commendation of Officers and Men of the 158th 
F. A. Brigade. 
1. Because of my relief from duty with the 158th F. A. 

140 



A History of Battery F 32^d Field Artillery 

Brigade, during my absence therefrom I was unable to publish 
an order relinquishing command of that Brigade. 

2. Will you therefore please convey to all the members of 
the Brigade my great appreciation of their work and their 
accomplishments while I had the honor to command the 
Brigade. 

3. In the training area the Brigade strove to complete 
its mastery of the technical details that would fit it to take 
its place at the front. According to the statements of the 
authorities of the training camp at Camp Coetquidan the 
Brigade surpassed all previous standards attained by the eight 
Brigades which had preceded it there, and established new 
records which have not since been equalled. 

The Brigade received its baptism of fire on the 26th of 
September, 1918, in the Meuse-Argonne offensive and acquitted 
itself with entire credit. From the 8th to the 29th of October, 
1918, the Brigade participated in all the engagements of the 
17th French Army Corps of Verdun, and there earned the 
reputation of being one of the best fighting artillery Brigades 
in the A. E. F. 

Upon the cessation of the activities of the 17th French 
Army Corps the Brigade was again attached to the 32d Divi- 
sion, and with the latter crossed the Meuse at Dun-sur-Meuse 
in pursuit of the retreating enemy. On the morning of the 
11th of November, 1918, when news of the Armistice reached 
it, all the regiments of the Brigade were in action, closer to 
the German frontier than any other artillery of the Allied 
armies north of Verdun. 

On the march to the Rhine the Brigade earned the 
approbation of all and the commendations of the Corps and 
Division Commanders for its excellent marching, march dis- 
cipline and care of its animals. In the Coblenz Bridgehead, as 
part of the American Army of Occupation, the Brigade at- 
tained standards which later resulted in the high commendation 
of the Commander-in-Chief. 

These accomplishments resulted from a zeal and a devo- 
tion to duty which are beyond all praise, and would have been 

141 



A History of Battery F s^sd Field Artillery 

impossible without the loyal co-operation and untiring effort 
of both officers and enlisted men. 

(Signed) A. S. Fleming, Brigadier General, U. S. A. 

By command of Brigadier General Craig: 

A. L. Richmond, Major F. A., Acting Adjutant. 

158TH F. A. BRIGADE 
A. E. F. 
General Order 17th April, 1919. 

No. 20. 

1. The following letter of the Division Commander is, 
by his express desire, published to the Regimental Commanders 
and to the Regiments of the Brigade: 

HEADQUARTERS THIRTY-SECOND DIVISION, 
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. 

Rengsdorf, Germany, 17th April, 1919. 
Brigadier General Adrian S. Fleming, Commanding, 
158th Field Artillery Brigade, 

American Expeditionary Forces. 

My dear General Fleming: 

Before the 158th F. A. Brigade starts on its way home, 
I desire to express to you and the Brigade in what high esti- 
mation I hold the services which the Brigade has rendered 
while in France and in Germany. 

The Brigade came under my command as a part of the 
32nd Division, when I took over the command of that division 
for the march to the Rhine. On this long and arduous march, 
so trying on men and animals, the artillery always showed up 
to advantage. Its good discipline and high spirit carried it 
successfully through all the obstacles and difficulties to be over- 
come. Since we have been in the Coblenz Bridgehead I have 
always felt that I could rely upon the artillery to meet any 
new development which might arise. Their situation has not 
always been easy, in that they have been transferred from 
Division to Division during the active operations, and so have 
had to get established in each new organization; but I can 

142 



A History of Battery F s^sd Field Artillery 

testify that with the 32nd Division their capabihties have been 
recognized and relied upon. The regiments of the Brigade, 
the 322nd Field Artillery, the 323rd Field Artillery and the 
324th Field Artillery have the right to take back with them to 
the United States the consciousness of work well done. 

I would ask you to convey to the regimental commanders 
and to the regiments of the Brigade my congratulations on 
their fine accomplishments. 

Sincerely Yours, 

(Signed) Wm. Lassiter, 
Major General, U. S. Army, 
Commanding 32nd Division. 

2. This letter is a tribute to the loyalty, devotion to 
duty, and patriotism of every officer and enlisted man who 
contributed to the results which earned it. 

Previously, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the 
Brigade supported, in battle, the 91st, 18th (French), 29th 
and 32nd Divisions; and with all these Divisions this work of 
all of its units was of the same standard as that to which the 
Division Commander bears testimony. 

"The right to take back with them the consciousness of 
work well done" is an achievement of the highest order and 
an honor second to none. They have earned this right and 
are entitled to the pride and distinction of its possession. 

By Command of Brigadier-General Fleming: 

A. L. Richmond, 
Major F. A. Acting Adjutant. 



143 



Station List of Unit Since Arrival 
in the American E. F. 

Unit 323rd F. A. Battery F, Sailed from Philadelphia, June 
10th, 1918, Arrived in England June 28th, 1918, on Transport 

"Agapenor," at Birkenhead, opposite Liverpool, England. 

STATION ARRIVED LEFT 
ENGLAND 

Camp Winnal-Down Winchester 28 June '18. 1 July '18. 

South Hampton 1 July 1 July 
FRANCE 

Le-Havre 2 July 3 July 

Maure 4 July 5 July 

Loheac 5 July 17 Aug. 

Camp-De-Coetquidan, Guer 17 Aug. 22 Sept. 

Revigny 24 Sept. 24 Sept. 

Vilotte-devont-Louppy 24 Sept. 24 Sept. 

Waly 25 Sept. 25 Sept. 

3 Kilo's North of Parois 26 Sept. 27 Sept. 

V2 Kilo West of Esnes 27 Sept. 3 Oct. 

Camp-Gallieni, 2 Kilo's East of Nixeville 4 Oct. 4 Oct. 

Verdun 5 Oct. 5 Oct. 

Cotc-de-Talou 5 Oct. 9 Oct. 

Brabant-Sur-lMeuse 10 Oct. 29 Oct. 

Bois-de-Vil!e 30 Oct. 31 Oct. 

Bois-de-Bethelanville 1 Nov. 1 Nov. 

Bois-de-Montfaucon 1 Nov. 2 Nov. 

Madeleine Farm — Cunel 3 Nov. 9 Nov. 

2 Kilo's S. W. of Haraumont 10 Nov. 10 Nov. 

Ecurey 10 Nov. 16 Nov. 

Jametz 16 Nov. 17 Nov. 

Noers 17 Nov, 18 Nov. 

Cosnes 18 Nov. 20 Nov. 

BELGIUM 

Guerlange 20 Nov. 21 Nov. 

LUXEMBOURG 

Kopstal 21 Nov. 22 Nov. 

Imbringen 22 Nov. 23 Nov. 

Beidweiler 23 Nov. 1 Dec. 

144 



A History of Battery F J3jd Field Artillery 

GERMANY 

Alsdorf 

Messerich 

Ginsdorf 

Udersdorf 

Kelberg 

Boos 

Mayen 

Kruft 

Heimbach 

Ruscheid 

Urbach-Uberdorf 

Dernbach 25 Jan. 22 April 

HOMEWARD BOUND 

U. S. S. Von Steuben. 

FRANCE 

Brest 26 April 5 May 

Hoboken, N. J. 13 May Camp Merritt 



1 Dec. 


2 


Dec. 


2 Dec. 


3 


Dec. 


3 Dec. 


5 


Dec. 


5 Dec. 


6 


Dec. 


6 Dec. 


7 


Dec. 


7 Dec. 


9 


Dec. 


9 Dec. 


10 


Dec. 


10 Dec. 


13 


Dec. 


13 Dec. 


14 


Dec. 


14 Dec. 


15 


Dec. 


15 Dec. 


25 


Jan. '19. 



145 



Roster of F Battery 323d L. F. A 

Rank Address 
Captain Dempsey, John B 

1201 Leader News Bldg., Cleveland, Ohio 

First Lieutenant Piatt, Rutherford H 

115 Fifth St., Garden City, N. Y. 

First Lieutenant Bradford, Boyce E New Concord, Ohio 

Second Lieutenant Breese, Lee W Batavia, N. Y. 

Second Lieutenant Holtz, William E Leetonia, Ohio 

First Sergeant Rayburn, Fred R.F.D. No. 1, Fort Gay, W. Va. 

Mess Sergeant Patterson, Martin M Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Stable Sergeant Voemastek, Charles J Rib Lake, Wis. 

Supply Sergeant Simpson, Robert C Woodlawn, Pa. 

Sergeant Riggs, McDonald H 532 Park Road, Ambridge, Pa. 

Sergeant Binder, Milton 686 Franklin St., Woodlawn, Pa. 

Sergeant Beligoy, John 1104 E. 77th St., Cleveland, Ohio 

Sergeant Potter, John B 612 Washington Ave., Monaca, Pa. 

Sergeant Nord, John A R.F.D. No. 23, Limesville, Pa. 

Sergeant Staub, Charles J R.F.D. No. 2, Monaca, Pa. 

Sergeant Groscost, Gilbert 2009 5th Ave., Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Sergeant Groscost, Robert R Beaver, Pa. 

Sergeant Crawford, Harry E R.F.D. No. 2, Monaca, Pa. 

Sergeant Lenhoff, James E 1383 S. 3rd St., Columbus, Ohio 

Corporal Jinaros, John G 202 Station St., Woodlawn, Pa. 

Corporal Torrance, Alac S R.F.D. No. 2, Murdocksville, Pa. 

Corporal Dobbin, Charles A Beaver, Pa. 

Corporal Elmer, Edward M Monaca, Pa. 

Corporal Stjernquist, Gust E. .20th St. and 8th Ave., Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Corporal Smiley, William D Koppel, Pa. 

Corporal Christie, Herbert H Parker Township, Butler, Pa. 

Corporal Sommcrs, Frederick F New Brighton, Pa. 

Corporal McCann, Leo R 2211 13th Ave., Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Corporal Cantwell, Dennis A Cannelton, Pa. 

Corporal Moorehouse, William A 

1027 Washington Ave., Monaca, Pa. 

Corporal Waite, Lowell O Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Corporal Deveny, Joseph M Beaver St., Colona, Pa. 

Corporal Jackson, Dewitt L Bruin, Pa. 

CoTporal Hanson, George 2022 W. 50th St., Cleveland, Ohio. 

Corporal Aley, Clifford S 716 8th St., Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Corporal Woodfield, Charles 242 Ohio Ave., Colona, Pa. 

Corporal McVey, Howard B Butte, Mont 

146 



A History of Battery F 3236, Field Artillery 

Rank Address 

Corporal Hage, Oscar H 1324 Washington Ave., Monaca, Pa. 

Corporal Hicks, James South Portsmouth, Ky. 

Corporal Patterson, James C 140 Mercer St., Butler, Pa. 

Corporal Brother, Jefferson D Owingsville, Ky. 

Cook Leibler, John R 535 Mifflin St., Butler, Pa. 

Cook Dimett, Tode 3rd St., Midland, Pa. 

Cook Rich, Ellwyn E West Park, Ohio 

Cook Young, James V 138 American Ave., Butler, Pa. 

Horseshoer Irwin, Elwin L R.F.D. No. 2, New Sheffield, Pa* 

Horseshoer Davis, Gilbert H South Heights, Pa. 

Horseshoer Covert, Horace L Slippery Rock, Pa. 

Ch. Mechanic Koehler, Howard R Beaver, Pa. 

Mechanic Kanchat, Oliver W Beaver, Pa. 

Mechanic Marshall, John B 219 4th Ave., Woodlawn, Pa. 

Sadler Hauber, Alfred Cleveland, Ohio 

Bugler Furgiuveli, Ernest 1120 Pacific Ave., Monaca, Pa. 

Bugler Rossi, Frank 240 Station St., Woodlawn, Pa. 

Bugler Chiocchio, Pelino 345 Allegheny Ave., Aliquippa, Pa. 

First Class Private Brown, Alfred S Shippingport, Pa. 

First Class Private Brown, Claude G Chicora, Pa. 

First Class Private Calhoun, Roily L Glasgow, Ky, 

First Class Private Bryant, Robert E Hicksville, Ky. 

First Class Private Christy, John M West Sunbury, Pa. 

First Class Private Flannery, George E 

1605 Linwood Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 

First Class Private Fry, Clarence H.431 E. Jefferson St., Butler, Pa. 

First Class Private Fry, Wilfred M New Castle, Pa. 

First Class Private Hastings, James T 

226 Winn Ave., Winchester, Ky. 

First Class Private Kelly, William H 

416 Southern Ave., Springfield, Ohio 

First Class Private Krampe, Paul E 

3104 Woodbridge Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 

First Class Private Liston, Thomas G 

1200 Washington Ave., Monaca, Pa. 

First Class Private Loche, Jay L Toledo, Ohio 

First Class Private Martin, James W Darlington, Pa. 

First Class Private McCalligan, John A Box 24, Wicklifif, Ohio 

First Class Private Novak, Andrew J 

2438 Marion Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 

First Class Private Papa, Patsy Midland, Pa. 

First Class Private Rhein, Joseph A R.F.D. No. 1, Beaver, Pa. 

First Class Private Roberts, Joseph A.. R.F.D. No. 1, Sausalito, Cal. 
First Class Private Stevenson, James B 

101 South St., Butler, Pa. 

First Class Private Stull, Harvey M Howard, Ohio 

147 



A History of Battery F s^^d Field Artillery 

Rank Address 
First Class Private Thomas, Bruce E 

1310 Offnare St., Portsmouth, Ohio 

First Class Private Toomey, John... 301 W. Fulton St., Butler, Pa. 
First Class Private Wagoner, Frank E 

R.F.D. No. 4, Beaver Falls, Pa. 

First Class Private Walker, James C Bruin, Pa. 

First Class Sergeant Williams, Dana Bartlett, Ohio 

First Class Private Wolford, Harry L Keister, Pa. 

First Class Private Wright, Franklin E 

722 Deck St., Steubenville, Ohio 

Private Adams, Tom Wallard, Ky. 

Private Alberti, Battista 2414 9th Ave., Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Alvey, Harry R R.F.D. No. 2, Munsey, Ind. 

Private Andrews, Howard M 7055 Central Ave., Pavis, 111. 

Private Andrews, Orrin J Hickman, Ky. 

Private Aurilio, Frank 2117 Collingwood Ave., Swissvale, Pa. 

Private Baker, John Forks of Elkhorn, Ky 

Private Barbour, Robert G Hickman, Ky. 

Private Bivin, Veachede Star Route, Carl, Ky. 

Private Blackburn, Crit Endicott, Ky. 

Private Boles. Alfred L R.F.D. No. 4, Glasgow, Ky. 

Private Bonzo, Jake South Portsmouth, Ky. 

Private Buckley, Joe 414 West 2nd St., Hopkinsville, Ky. 

Private Burchett, George Prestonburg, Ky. 

Private Butcher, Isaac A Plumbers Landing, Ky. 

Private Caldwell, Orville Portsmouth, Ohio 

Private Carrington, Earl A El Paso, Texas 

Private Cassin, James W 2419 W. Market St., Louisville, Ky. 

Private Celletti, Domenico Scottsdale, Pa. 

Private Chapman, William H Racine, Pa. 

Private Chenot, Lucien G 328 Hickory St., Butler, Pa. 

Private Chism, Charles 165 Winn Ave., Winchester, Ky. 

Private Chi vers, James G Homesassa, Ky. 

Private Clark, Alex Pals Grove, Ky. 

Private Clark, Orval Star Route No. 3, Mt. Sterling, Ky. 

Private Clinkenbeard, Granville Bethel, Ky. 

Private Collins, Flem Brainard, Ky. 

Private Conley, George 7070 Franklin Ave., Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Crisp, Lee Dock, Ky. 

Private Dawkins, John S 169 Spring St., Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private De Roon, Ornie 167 Carbon St., Paterson, N. J. 

Private Didelow, Denver D White Mills, Ky. 

Private Di Guilio, Luigi 133 Miner St., Aliquippa, Pa. 

Private Fisher, Wilbur H 305 W. Diamond St., Butler, Pa. 

Private Fletcher, Tom K Bays, Ky. 

148 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

^^^^ Address 

Private Forrest, Swale 1584 W. 25th St., Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Foster, Clinton S 2532 Gallia St., Portsmouth, Ohio 

Private Fowlkes, Burley Oakton, Ky. 

Private Frogue, Elijah 614 W. 8th St., Cincinnati, Ohio 

Private Greer, Arthur M 35 Montrose Ave., Delaware, Ohio 

Private Griffith, Murray C 247 S. 2nd St., Newark, Ohio 

Private Gross, George Q 967 McKinley St., Toledo, Ohio 

Private Gruchala, Leo R 246 Detroit St., Buffalo, N. Y. 

Private Gusler, Ollie Sonora, Ky. 

Private Hagood, Vernon E 301 W. 109th St., New York, N. Y. 

Private Harrod, Campbell 322 Park Ave., Frankfort, Ky. 

Private Haynes, Joseph C Ralston, Ky. 

Private Hendricks, Arthur R R.F.D. No. 3, Richwood, Ohio 

Private Herndon, Alfred A Fair Grove, Missouri 

Private Hessey, Wilson J 1010 W. Main St., Fostoria, Ohio 

Private Hill, Mark 208 5th St., Monaca, Pa. 

Private Hopper, Walter C 2825 Sth Ave., Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Howarth, John W 1511 5th Ave., Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Howell. Ben Glenwood, Ky. 

Private Huff, Allen E Persimmon, Ky. 

Private Hutchinson, William Route No. 2, Wadsworth, Ohio 

Private Hughes, Richmond P Bee Log, N. C. 

Private Jicha, Louis 3578 Independence St., Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Keifer, Smith R.F.D. No. 2, Hookstown, Pa. 

Private Kresiclny, Andrew 2334 Elston Ave., Chicago, 111. 

Private Kruta, Miller Thief River Falls, Minn. 

Private Kurkowski, Walter E. 63rd St., Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Landgraff, John R.F.D. No. 1, Fennelton, Pa. 

Private Lane, Andrew D Tulsa, Okla. 

Private Lolli, Emilio 1st Ave., Woodlawn, Pa! 

Private Lutkehaus, Louis F 1315 Lane St., Hamilton, Ohio 

Private McDermott, Patrick Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Miller, Francis H 516 Market Ave., Canton, Ohio 

Private Miller, Leslie P 131 Baley St., Zanesville, Ohio 

Private Nelson, Arthur Leadwood, Missouri 

Private Newbaur, Herman A 572 East Ave., Akron, Ohio 

Private Neal, Percy A No. 9 Chestnut St., Farmingham, Mass. 

Private Parker, Tracy O Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Rabinovitz, Joseph.. 418 Neshannock Ave., New Castle, Pa. 

Private Reed, Frank *. Congo, Ohio 

Private Reilley, Donald 150 E. 5th South, Salt Lake City, Utah 

Private Rennie, John Third Ave. and 8th St., Freedom, Pa. 

Private Robbins, Leo 29 Afton Ave., Grafton, Pa. 

Private Samerdyke, Frank E 1914 Indiana Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Sanchez, Ezequias Solomonville, Arizona 

149 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

Rank Address 

Private Saxton, Benjamin 805 Arlington Ave., Canton, Ohio 

Private Sherbiniski, Joseph 15 Monroe Ave., Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Shillady, Harry J 17 Ford St., Rochester, N. Y. 

Private Slutsky, Mayer 3 Le Roy Court, Cincinnati, Ohio 

Private Snyder, Carl R R.F.D. No. 3, Harrisville, Pa. 

Private Szkutt, Ignacz Bessemer St., Lyndora, Pa. 

Private Troyanowski, Harry J 1604 2nd Ave., Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Tyler, Louis 76 Loraine Ave., Columbus, Ohio 

Private Vance, Horace E R.F.D. No. 2, New Castle, Pa. 

Private Vanryckeghem, Jules Metamora, Ohio 

Private Vermeullen, Alphonso R.F.D. No. 17, Metamora, Ohio 

Private Weinstein, Alex Middle St., Midland, Pa. 

Private Whitehead, Stephen H 

1640 Crawford Road, Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Wiley, Johnson J St. Clairsville, Ohio 

Private Winkle, Lawrence Hopewell Ave., Aliquippa, Pa. 

Private Yoakum, Charles Leipsic, Ohio 

Private Young, Tompie Glasgow, Ky. 

Private Zigarevich, Sergey Bessemer St., Lyndora, Pa. 



150 



Roster of Former Members of 
Battery F 

Rank Address 

Captain Archer, Herman N San Francisco, Cal. 

Captain Middleton, Henry A Toledo, Ohio 

First Lieutenant Dempsey, Ernest C Cleveland, Ohio 

First Lieutenant Bacon, Louis A Indianapolis, Ind. 

First Lieutenant Colyer, Charles M 

Union Commerce Bldg., Cleveland, Ohio 

Second Lieutenant Calhoun, Floyd B Akron, Ohio 

Second Lieutenant Patterson, Jefferson Dayton, Ohio 

Second Lieutenant Wilson, Willard W Hillsboro, Ohio 

Sergeant Emery, Thomas W Ambridge, Pa. 

Sergeant Manuszak, Casimier Columbus, Ohio 

Sergeant McEntee, William E Ambridge, Pa. 

Sergeant Stewart, Edward L Amtridge Pa. 

Sergeant Rea, William Ross Baden Pa. 

Sergeant Small, Phillip L Cleveland, Ohio 

Sergeant Kappler, Norman G Cleveland, Ohio 

Sergeant Frazier, Max Rochester, Pa. 

Sergeant Shriver, Louis M Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Corporal McCabe, William S Ambridge, Pa. 

Corporal Kennedy, Lynn H Woodlawn, Pa. 

Corporal Reese, Frank Aliquippa' Pa. 

Corporal Wolman, Henry J Butler Pa. 

Corporal Wright, Lewis F Beaver Pa. 

Cook Fetzer, John Allen Aliquippa, Pa. 

Mechanic Koenig, Alfred Cincinnati, Ohio 

First Class Private Bell, Clayton S Butler Pa. 

Private Angert, Clarence Butler Pa. 

Private Burns, Ralph L Colona Pa 

Private Brooks, Irving Detroit, Mich. 

Private Barnhart, Raymond E Butler Pa 

Private Black, Braden M Butler Pa 

Private Brandon, Allen Butler Pa 

Private Brigdon, Frank Butler Pa. 

Private Bartley, Roy Butler, Pa. 

Private Cain, John S Aliquippa, Pa! 

Private Cantwell, John B Cannelton, Pa. 

Private Cochran, Elmer J Woodlawn, Pa 

Private Cox, Harry Beaver, Pa 

Private Culmer, Howard Beaver Falls, Pa. 

151 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

Rank Address 

Private Chappell, Frank H Fulton, Ky. 

Private Cobb, Hubert H 

Private Colvin, Edward J Cambridge, Ohio 

Private Claypool, Curtis M Butler, Pa. 

Private Corliss, Roy L 

Private Davis, William McK New Sheffield, Pa. 

Private Del Signore, Attilio Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Dimmer, John Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Devine, Charles T Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Donahy, William J Cumberland, Md. 

Private Dinello, Carlo Aliquippa, Pa. 

Private Denton, James H Atlanta, Ga. 

Private Elk, Frank C Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Evans, Charles Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Garber, Harry E Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Gentile, Seme Aliquippa, Pa. 

Private George, John Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Gilbert, Emmit Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Gordon, Isaac E New Brighton, Pa. 

Private Grim, Addie H. R Beaver, Pa. 

Private Goldrick, Osborn Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Glicker, Gus Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Fassold, Everett L Butler, Pa. 

Private Fitzsimmons, Thomas G Butler, Pa. 

Private Hinzman, James T Industry, Pa. 

Private Huffman, Charles Homewood, Pa. 

Private Hull, Joseph E Darlington, Pa. 

Private Hulmes, Seth L Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Hunter, Joe Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Hockenberry, George C Slippery Rock, Pa. 

Private Hagany, William Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Hartman, Russell A Canton, Ohio 

Private Hawkins, Robert L Moores Ferry, Ky. 

Private Hill, Pearl R Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Humm, William J Toledo, Ohio 

Private Haas, Arthur E Cleveland, Ohio 

Private Handleman, William Ottumwa, Iowa 

Private Harp, Rufus Checotah, Okla. 

Private Jordan, Domcnico Monaca, Pa. 

Private Jordan, Ralph Monaca, Pa. 

Private Johnson, Roy E Butler, Pa. 

Private Kewbef er, Mike Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Kitson, George E Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Kline, Melvin F Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Knott, Fred J Woodlawn, Pa. 

152 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

Rank Address 

Private Kelly, Richard J Bruin, Pa. 

Private Kuisch, Af anasy Butler, Pa. 

Private Keck, Herman E Butler, Pa. 

Private Knesebeck, Edward Toledo, Ohio 

Private Laff erty, John Darlinton, Pa. 

Private Lyons, Walter Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Lepley, William Butler, Pa. 

Private Logan, Glenn B Butler, Pa. 

Private Leimpach, Benjamin 

Private Le Roy, George Butler, Pa. 

Private Le Roy, Frank J Los Angeles, Cal. 

Private McGuckin, William L 

Private McKenzie, John B Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private McQuistion, Samuel Butler, Pa. 

Private Menetis, Nick Weirton, W. Va. 

Private Miller, Howard Butler, Pa. 

Private Miller, Arthur P Butler, Pa. 

Private Moran, Joseph M Colona, Pa. 

Private Muntean, Eli Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Myers, James W Monaca, Pa. 

Private Mueller, Theodore E Butler, Pa. 

Private Murtland, Budd A Butler, Pa. 

Private Peroli, Domenico Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Peterman, Clyde E Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Pettit, Daniel B Shippingport, Pa. 

Private Popciak, Jacob P Butler, Pa. 

Private Poskanny, Nikifor Butler, Pa. 

Private Primatic, August Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Phillips, Lee Butler, Pa. 

Private Parsons, Everett Toronto, Ohio 

Private Rhodes, Charles F Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Riscinski, Bronselaw Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private I^ock, Sullivan Aliquippa, Pa. 

Private Ritzert, Charles F Butler, Pa. 

Private Robinson, Clifford J Butler, Pa. 

Private Rodgers, Thomas Butler, Pa. 

Private Roessing, Howard L Butler, Pa. 

Private Robinson, Samuel E Butler, Pa. 

Private Raof sky, Samuel 

Private Sakutt, Pawel Lyndora, Pa. 

Private Sarakaka, Demetric 

Private Schell, Carl A Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Sconty, Rocco Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Shamp, Raymond E Shippingport, Pa. 

Private Springer, Harry A Shippingport, Pa. 

153 



A History of Battery F 323d Field Artillery 

Rank Address 

Private Stoffel, Alvin H Ambridge, Pa. 

Private Snyder, John Butler, Pa. 

Private Sintz, Mathias Butler, Pa. 

Private Slater, Edmund Butler, Pa. 

Private Spohn, Daniel M Butler, Pa. 

Private Shea, Frank Lima, Ohio 

Private Simonson, Claude L Wellington, Ohio 

Private Snyder, Henry A Butler, Pa. 

Private Schoaf, Elmer S New Brighton, Pa. 

Private Shultz, James A Butler, Pa. 

Private Taylor, John P Butler, Pa. 

Private Urwin, David Monaca, Pa. 

Private Uhlenbrock, Albert Cincinnati, Ohio 

Private Veltry, Charles Woodlawn, Pa. 

Private Veri, Guiseppi 

Private Vindero, Libcrato Columbus, Ohio 

Private Van Meter, William C Ambridge, Pa. 

Private Walton, William Van Port, Pa. 

Private Weitz, Raymond Beaver Falls, Pa. 

Private Whitt, Wayne Butler, Pa. 

Private Wilson, Charles F 

Private Waltman, Albert F Butler, Pa. 

Private Wagner, Charles W Butler, Pa. 

Private Yoho, Roy A Homevvood, Pa. 



154 



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